Walk with Me
by Imahica
Summary: When the hot-headed Daryl Dixon fell from a ravine looking for Sophia, he was saved by an unusual heroine: the cold and stoic Emyli Evans. This convergence makes an unfeeling strange girl and a short-tempered redneck walking together in the midst of the dead seems not so unlikely anymore. Caution: for Language, Mature Themes (sex, abuse, etc.) & Walker-Slaughters
1. Chapter 1 - Chupacabra

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

* * *

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

Chapter 1:** CHUPACABRA**

* * *

There were sounds of footsteps on dry leaves. They were faint, obviously from an experienced hunter, but she could still hear them, anyway. Actually, _feel_ was the better word to use. She could feel them. Emyli was not a hunter but she had been with one for too long she recognized the light, measured but also effortless steps. The sound was coming from above the ravine. Next was the sound of a horse's hooves. The hunter was not on foot anymore, Emyli thought. She couldn't see anything above the waterfalls but still she hid behind the branches and leaves. She had a bad feeling about this.

There was the sound of a horse getting out of control. She readied her weapon: a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire—already bloody. Someone was falling. Emyli lowered herself and watched from a distance. It was a man. She doubted if he could survive such a high and rocky fall. Curiously, the man tried to stand up a few moments after hitting the shallow waters. Bloodied and with an arrow sticking to his side, the man dragged himself to the rocks, pulled both the sleeves of his shirt off and tied the cloth around his waist. Holding his side, the man tried to walk and looked miserable doing it. Emyli thought he was looking for something to aid him with walking. The man vanished from her sight so she moved to the right and accidentally stepped on dry wood. Emyli held her breath as the man looked to her direction. He has sharp ears, Emyli thought unsurprised. The man became alert. He reached for something from his back but his hand was unable to find what it's looking for. Hurriedly the man went back to the waters. He's looking for his weapon, Emyli surmised. A few moments after, the man retrieved a crossbow and he went back to the rocks, looked up, and with gritted teeth, tried to climb back up.

Emyli knew she should be going. The man looked like he could fend for himself and he also didn't seem to be someone who'd appreciate company. The man was almost half-way from the ravine's top which would be very impressive even for someone _without_ an arrow on the side. Emily began to walk away using her own silent footsteps—then she heard another thud.

The man fell again. This time, he didn't get up—he's lying on his back. Emyli was ready to rush towards the man, to help, when she heard the man spoke.

"Merle."

Emyli stopped on her tracks; not sure what to do.

"A shitty day, bro."

Emyli had to look around although it's obvious there's nobody else around. The man was talking to himself—or is hallucinating.

"A girl…they lost a little girl…."

Emyli hid herself again, behind a nearer bush and listened.

"Tried like hell to find 'ya, bro…. We went back for 'ya."

Emyli had been listening intently it was almost too late when she heard the groans. She turned around and had to smash a walker's head a few inches from her. Her body tensed and her heart pounded. At least another walker was on its way. She turned to where the man was lying. She ran as fast as she could when she saw a walker gnawing on the man's foot. Emyli swung her bat with all her might and sent the destroyed head of the walker flying. Breathing heavily, she looked at the man who was half conscious now trying to sit up.

"Are you okay?" Emyli was able to mutter.

But even before the man could reply, Emyli had to gasp as a walker grabbed her by her long hair. She had to kick the walker backwards, on its knee and then quickly batted its arms off to get free; she then smashed the walker's skull. Meanwhile, another walker was approaching the man who still cannot manage to sit straight. Emyli rushed to his aid but was impeded by two approaching walkers from her side.

"No!" she screamed while banging the walker's head hard with her deadly baseball bat. _I've got to save him_, that's her thought. She swung the bat and hit the second walker's head with it. With almost no strength left, she turned and looked at the man.

Emyli froze as she watched the man pull the arrow on his side. He was screaming in pain. He then pulled back the string on his crossbow with the walker only a few feet from him. He placed the bloody arrow and released as the walker dived to take a bite off of him.

The arrow struck right on target. The man was back on the ground after pushing the walker aside. Breathing heavily, it seemed like he was to completely lose his consciousness.

Emyli was fast on her feet. He ran toward the man and pushed him to a sitting position and put his arm around her neck.

"Can you hear me? There's more of them so we have to go," Emyli said in between breaths and then tried to pull up but the man was too heavy for her. "Please, pull yourself up…." Emyli pulled again, this time, the man seemed lighter—he's now moving and trying to stand up with her.

They were finally standing and Emyli quickly scanned the surroundings. Clear—for now. She knew they have to hurry.

* * *

When Daryl Dixon became fully conscious, he had a severe heartache. He sits up, alert and ready with his arrow and crossbow he spotted on his side. He looked around. He's in a shack. When he was sure it's safe, he breathed a sigh of relief, and it was only then that he remembered he had a punctured side. He was surprised when he found his waist covered with fresh bandages. His lower leg was also wrapped with bandages. He tried to remember how he got there. He remembered being bitten near his foot. He quickly unrolled the bandages and was relieved to see a chunk of skin had been sliced off. He put the bandages back. He then recalled seeing his brother, Merle—he looked around again half-expecting him to be there.

"Pft, I'd be damned if he was really there," he said to himself.

Daryl stood up and walked a few steps, still limping. He peeked through the spaces between the wooden walls. He was greeted by the foul smell and was unsurprised that he was so used to it now. It's afternoon—and it looked like the sun will set in a couple of hours. He then looked down and discovered there were numerous walker bodies outside, probably surrounding the shack, with their stomachs opened and guts haphazardly scattered. He suddenly heared footsteps and turned around with his crossbow raised.

"Glad to see you're okay now."

Daryl lowered his weapon but maintained his firm grip on it.

"And who're ye?"

The girl was small, about eight inches smaller than Daryl; perhaps sixteen or seventeen. She had long, straight black hair and warm brown eyes. She was wearing black, woollen long sleeves and torn jeans and dirty sneakers. There was dried blood on her face. The girl looked so young and innocent—until you see she her holding a bloody baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire.

The girl tried to smile at Daryl—and closed her eyes and fell on the floor.

"Hey!" Daryl hurriedly went for her and tried to pull her up. He froze when he touched her.

"Silly girl has the fucking fever," he spitted.

He stood up, readied his crossbow and aimed it at the head of the unconscious girl. But it was when he was about to release the arrow that he recalled that last time he did that, it was to shoot a walker about to attack him. He remembered almost completely losing consciousness after that—but someone had rushed to his side and pulled him up, dragged him here—dragged him to safety. And he remembered that that someone was this girl.

Daryl lowered his crossbow and put it on his back.

"Girl is smart enough to scrape my leg, would be fucking stupid if she ain't done the same to herself…. Unless the bite is someplace that can't be butchered."

Daryl reached for the girl. He pulled up the sleeves of her top and examined her arms. No bite. He went for her neck, shoulders and head but also found nothing. Daryl was about to pull the girl's shirt up but he stopped and stood up instead.

"The dead is eating the living and I was afraid of getting caught checking a girl's tits," he scolded himself.

Daryl walked towards a huge backpack a few steps from the girl. He rummaged through its contents. He was amused of it as it had candy bars, some canned goods and a first aid kit among others. It looked like the girl had prepared for a camping, he thought. Too bad she forgot paracetamol.

Daryl carried the unconscious girl and placed her on the cot where he was lying. He put the heavy bag beside her and the baseball bat on her palm.

"You better still be in one piece when I get back," Daryl said. He went outside and after securing the shack's entrance by putting a walker's body in standing position against the wooden door, he traced their footsteps to get back to the ravine where he fell from.

It was only then that Daryl fully realized how high he fell. His sides still hurt and if he was only able to make it half-way alone, it's simple Math that it's gonna be suicide trying to climb back again this time carrying a girl. He has to find another way up, back to the farm.

A few meters from there, he was able to trace a faint path. He followed it as it curved upwards, slowly but steadily. Daryl then hurried back to the shack hoping the girl didn't turn in his absence. She didn't and he was relieved. He put the heavy back pack on, crossbow ready on his right hand, he held the girl with his left hand, close to his chest. His side cried in pain but he didn't risk holding the crossbow with his left hand (as right was his good hand).

It was a slow journey and Daryl was glad it was uneventful. His side however did not improve and he felt his wounds re-opened. He was practically dragging both of them when they reached the farm.

* * *

Most of the women were preparing dinner inside the Greene's house. Andrea, though, was a different case. She stayed on top of the RV with binoculars and riffle.

"What's with the Annie Oakley routine?" Dale observed walking toward the RV.

"I don't wanna wash clothes anymore, Dale," Andrea answered knowing this can drag on for a while, "I wanna help keep the camp safe. Is that alright with you?"

Dale just sighed, in Andrea's relief. He went inside the RV without another word.

Andrea was sitting when she saw it. She stood up, and screamed.

"Walker! Walker!"

Rick rushed towards the RV and tried to confirm Andrea's claim.

Rick also saw it: It's a figure from a distance, dragging himself, slowly and almost painfully.

"Just one?" Rick asked.

"I bet I can nail it from here," Andrea declared, about to aim with her rifle.

"No, no. Andrea put the gun down," Rick ordered.

The men, Shane, Glenn and T-Dog rushed to their weapons: pick-axe, hacksaw and bat.

"You best let us handle this," Shane said.

"Shane, hold up, Hershel wants to deal with the walkers," Rick impatiently reminded him.

"What for, man?" Shane answered coolly, brisk walking forward, "we got it covered."

"Damn!" Rick cursed and went to the RV to get a gun; he then, followed the boys.

The women seemed to hear the commotion as they, too rushed to the side of the RV.

"What's happening?" Lori asked in a panicked voice.

"We got us a walker," Andrea answered.

The girls groaned in exasperation.

"Well, is it just one?" Carol asked, scared.

Andrea looked through the binoculars to check.

"Oh my god."

"What!?" Lori asked

"I-it's Daryl!" Andrea said.

"Daryl?" Lori repeated, not quite understanding.

"He looks bad," Andrea said still on the binoculars, "and he's holding a girl!"

"A girl!?" Carol shrieked. "Is it my Sophia!?"

"Can't tell." Andrea let go of the binoculars and went down from the top of the RV.

Andrea, Carol and Maggie ran towards Daryl.

"Is that Daryl!?" Glenn exclaimed.

Glenn was the first one to reach Daryl. Daryl gave him his crossbow, he released the backpack and hand it over to T-Dog. "You ain't gonna open that 'till this girl gets conscious," Daryl warned. He could barely stand straight with his bloody side but maintained his grip on the girl.

"What happened to you!?" Shane asked stepping forward, arms ready to take the girl from Daryl, "and who's this girl?"

But Daryl stepped backwards, distancing the girl from Shane. There was a scared look on his face. His eyes turned to Rick and firmly said, "this girl saved my life." Rick seemed to understand and nodded. Daryl let Rick take the girl; their eyes not looking away. Daryl waited to see Rick's reaction once he realized the girl had a fever.

"I'll take care of this," Rick reassured Daryl; he's now carrying the girl.

Daryl breathed a sigh of relief and passed out. Shane was quick to catch him by the arm.

"What do hell do you think happened?" T-Dog demanded, confused.

"Daryl!" Carol was calling, running towards them.

"Oh my god, is he alive?" Andrea asked, palm on her mouth—the first girl to reach them.

"Breathing," Glenn answered, "his side is bandaged but from the looks of it, he's losing blood. Might need stitches."

"Who's that girl?" Maggie asked Rick as she reached the spot.

No one tried to offer an answer.

Carol came in last; burst into tears when she realized the girl was not Sophia. She knew it could hardly be her. This girl was small but too tall to be Sophia. Still…she had hoped.

"Best we let Hershel see them first," Rick said hurrying back towards the house, closely followed by Shane.

"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" T-Dog called showing a doll he got from Daryl's back pocket.

* * *

"How's the girl?" Daryl asked the moment he opened his eyes. He's already lying on a bed; woke up with Hershel stitching his side.

Rick and Shane were inside the room, sitting on chairs, eyes on Daryl.

"In the other room. She'll be fine," Rick assured Daryl, "she's got the normal fever. We had the girls look for bites earlier. There were bruises but no bites. Not even scratches. We gave her paracetamol."

This seemed to relieve Daryl.

"But really, Daryl," Shane said, exasperated, "you brought a girl with a high fever here without checking for bites?!"

"That girl saved my life!" Daryl snapped at him, then he cried of pain as Hershel missed with the stitching. "And I ain't fool not to check. I did! Not just…thoroughly." Daryl looked down, as if embarrassed. "That's still a girl."

This silenced Shane although it's obvious he's stilled annoyed.

"You found Sophia's doll," Rick commented.

"I found it washed up on the creek bed right there," Daryl explained. "She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere."

"Cuts the grid almost in half," Rick said.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Daryl answered coolly.

"How's he looking?" Rick asked Hershel.

"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics quickly," Hershel replied looking tired. He cuts the thread on Daryl's stitch. "Any idea what happened to my horse?"

"Yeah, the one who almost killed me?" Daryl said in sarcastic tone, "If it's smart, it left the country."

"We call that Nelly," Hershel said, "as in Nervous Nelly. I could have told you she'd throw you if you'd bother to ask." Hershel turned to Rick. "It's a wonder you people have survived this long."

* * *

Emyli woke up to the sounds of spoons and forks on plates. She's sweating—a sign that she's getting better. She sat up and removed the damp cloth that fell from her forehead. Emyli pushed the sheets away and walked towards the door. It's ajar but she had to open it a bit more so she can get a clear view of what's happening outside.

There's a lot of people—living people; at least ten. They're eating dinner and there seemed to be an awkward silence hanging in the air.

"Does anybody know how to play a guitar?" The voice came from an Asian guy; the question seemed like an effort made for everyone to relax and talk. Everybody looked tense—this was not an atmosphere shared by people getting along well. "Dale found a cool one. Somebody's gotta know how to play."

It did not improve the air, though. More awkward silence until a middle-aged woman with curly blonde hair answered, "Otis did." Glances were exchanged.

"Yes, and he was very good, too," an old man added firmly.

Emyli was about to go back to bed after she closed the door—but it creaked so loud when she pushed it that seconds after, all eyes were on her.

"Ahm…ah…I-I was just…."

A man stood up and walked toward her.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked her. Emyli just nodded.

"Why don't you join us?" The voice was from another man—a man with shaved head and sarcastic tone. "We'd like to hear your story."

"I doubt my story will be appreciated over dinner," Emily said coolly and turned her back without closing the door.

"Shane, she's just a kid," Lori snapped at him. Shane just snickered and shook his head.

"I'll prepare her dinner and talk to her," Carol announced.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on Emyli's ajar door. Carol entered the room with a tray of food. She placed it on the bedside table and sat on a chair in front of the bed.

"You seem to have recovered quickly," Carol observed.

Emyli just looked at her with a blank expression.

Carol smiled. "My name is Carol, what's yours?"

She hesitated at first, but gave her name.

"Emyli," Carol repeated with shaky voice, "thank you so much for saving Daryl."

"Daryl?" Emyli asked, "The man with the crossbow?"

Carol nodded as she wiped a tear. "He was looking for my daughter, Sophia."

Emyli did not know how to react.

"Ahm…are you Daryl's wife?" she asked awkwardly.

Carol snorted and smiled again.

"No, no," she replied. She stood up and pointed to the food. "Please eat. Rick and Hershel would like to talk to you later."

Emyli nodded and started eating.

* * *

"Your name is Emyli?" Rick asked. He and Hershel are in the room. Emyli was still on the bed wearing a blank expression.

"Where are you from?" Hershel asked gently.

"Maine," she replied. "My dad and sister were in my aunt's dairy."

Rick and Hershel exchanged looks.

"Antonia's dairy?" Hershel asked again. Emyli nodded. "What happened? Are they still alive?"

Emyli shook her head. "We were attacked—I think a month ago," she recounted. "We thought we were safe but…," she bowed her head. "Everyone's gone," she looked at Hershel with a hardened expression. "I barely made it out alive. I've been in the woods since then."

Hershel patted her arm. "Well, you can stay here, now," he told her. He then, turned to Rick. "That dairy is just a few miles from here."

* * *

Emyli did not get a good night sleep considering this was her first time to lie on a soft mattress after over a month. Everything felt so strange. She could feel tension in this group of people—like there's a bomb counting down. She thought she wouldn't want to be around with that bomb ticking. She could fend for herself; there's no reason to stay.

She stood up and went for the curtains; she pushed them a bit and looked.

There was Daryl; up and about in the middle of the night with stitches on his side.

"He just can't sit still," Emyli said to herself while shaking her head. And added without thinking: "like me. Actually."

She went back to bed and finally fell sleep; thinking she's not having it rough alone.

* * *

**Next chapter: **Daryl gets a towel bath….


	2. Chapter 2 - Secrets (Part 1)

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Daryl fell from a ravine looking for Sophia. He was saved from walkers by a mysterious girl who brought him to a shack. When Daryl woke up, he found his wounds attended to, but he later discovered that the girl who saved her has a fever. Daryl, in turn, brought the girl to the Greene Farm.

* * *

Chapter 2:** SECRETS (PART 1)**

* * *

Their father stormed into the living room. Emyli silently rushed to the stairs to take a small peek—one look at their father's subtle twitching of lips and she knew. She ran back to her room and held her sister by her shoulders.

"Kate," Emyli whispered trying hard to look calm. "Go to your room now," she said firmly. Emyli couldn't stand the scared look on her sister's face every time this happened. So Emyli smiled; to assure Kate that everything was fine. "Remember: Lock the door. Do not go outside until you hear our music, okay?" Kate nodded slowly. "Good girl." She heard their father's footsteps on the stairs. "Now go," she ushered Kate. Kate ran to her room and Emyli did not go back inside her own until she heard the lock.

Sitting on her bed, Emyli prepared herself. She emptied her mind and put a blank expression on her face. She was numb. Emyli was sitting on her bed with her eyes closed, waiting for their father to turn the doorknob….

But it did not happen.

Emyli heard the sound of keys. Her father walked past her room, on to the next.

"No…," she uttered in horrified disbelief. "No!"

* * *

"No!"

"I-I'm sorry," Beth said, startled. "I was just trying to wake you up…."

Emyli tried to sit up holding her temple in one hand. Her head ached: probably an aftermath of her fever. She tried to remember what her dream was but couldn't.

"Breakfast is ready," Beth added; a little worried. She went out of the room, to the kitchen.

Emyli's first thought was the baseball bat. She never walked around without it; however, it was nowhere in sight. She got up from the bed and spotted her backpack on the floor. She opened it and made a mental inventory of the things in there. Some stuffs, she left in the room and some, she left inside. She put the bag on and followed Beth.

Unlike the dinner last night, only the Greene family was there with Patricia and Jimmy. All of them were already sitting in front of the table as the meal and utensils had already been prepared. It must have been a long while that Emyli stood there just staring at the table because she needed Hershel's voice to snap her out of it.

"Emyli?" Hershel called with a worried face.

"I'm sorry," she said. She took the backpack off her and placed it on the counter. She opened it and rummaged through its contents. "I was just thinking that if you're taking me in, I better not be a burden." She walked up to Hershel and hand him a bulky medical kit. "It's not much but it has bandages, antiseptics…."

Hershel took the box but also put it away.

"If we didn't need antibiotics badly I wouldn't have taken this," Hershel said with a smile. He stood up and pulled a chair for Emyli. "You don't have to worry about it. I'm sure if it were Maggie or Beth, Antonia would also be showing them the same hospitality."

Emyli nodded. She took the seat and ate.

* * *

Emyli went to the camp. They were just done with breakfast as well. She walked past Glenn who barely noticed her as he was busy looking at the binoculars. There's an anxious look on his face. Emyli looked at the direction where he's looking: he was eying the barn. Emyli decided to stop a few meters away and observe. She found Carl sitting on a rock. Emyli put her backpack down and sat beside the boy.

"So you're the new kid," Carl announced excitedly.

"Kid?" Emyli repeated. "Do I really look that young?"

Carl had to stop and think. "Yeah, about Beth's age? I think she's sixteen. My name is Carl."

"Emyli," she replied. She opened her bag again and pulled a candy bar. "Here you go."

"Whoa!" Carl exclaimed not believing he's receiving Snickers. "Thanks!"

"I still have a lot," Emyli said proudly. But then she remembered, "my sister knew I love these so she packed as many as she could."

Carl noticed her change of tone. "Did you lose her?" he asked. Emyli just nodded.

"You'll be fine," Carl told her. "You saved Daryl—you must be tough."

"Thanks," Emyli replied.

Carl ate the candy bar silently while Emyli observed Glenn from afar. He kept on fidgeting, looking at the barn's direction with binoculars, then walking around with a worried look, then looking through the binoculars again. A few moments after, Maggie approached him with a bucket full of peaches. They seemed to have an _interesting_ conversation—trying not to be heard by the others. After that, Glenn walked around offering peaches.

"Are you feeling _peachy_ today?" a smiling Glenn asked Emyli. He walked up to their direction and introduced himself.

Emyli politely, curled her lips at his pun. "Yeah, sure," she took one, "keeps the doctor away."

After a while, Emyli excused herself and walked up to the RV. She saw Dale eying Glenn who went back to his fidgeting.

"Can I climb this?" Emyli called to Dale while pointing to the RV's roof. Dale shifted his eyes on her and smiled, amused.

"Sure," answered Dale.

Emyli climbed to the roof of the RV. It wasn't that high but the wind was blowing and it felt good.

"I have never been on a vehicle like this before," Emyli said with her blank expression.

"Well, I'm glad if you liked it?" Dale followed her to the RV's top.

Emyli realized it was her stoic expression that's confusing the man. She smiled and nodded, "I do."

"My name is Dale," he said walking closer to the girl. "Carol said you are Emyli?" She nodded again.

They were silent for a while. Emyli looked around and found a book on a folding chair. She picked it up and read the title.

"_The Case of the Missing Man_. Is it good?" Emyli asked, her blank expression back.

Dale shrugged. "Good enough," he answered with eyebrows pulled together.

"Tell you what," Emyli dropped her bag to the roof of the RV and pulled a book from there. She showed it to Dale. "I'll trade this for that," she handed the book over.

Dale saw it was _Something Wicked This Way Comes_.

"But only for a while," Emyli quickly added. And then slowly, almost carefully said, "my sister. She liked that book although she never admitted it." Emily smiled at the thought. Dale is watching her change of expressions closely. "She said it's too scary. But she always had me recount snippets of it."

Dale nodded, and smiled as if he had understood something.

"Sure. This must really be wonderful," he answered. He looked at Emyli's back pack, "What _else_ is in that bag?" Dale asked, fascinated.

"You'll be surprised," she answered putting Dale's book inside.

Then she remembered: "Ahm, did you see Daryl bring with us a baseball bat?" she asked. "It was what kept me alive all this time. I'm not comfortable without it."

"I didn't notice," Dale answered then looked ahead and pointed. "You might want to ask him yourself."

"Thank you, Dale," said Emyli and went down the RV.

* * *

Daryl was cleaning himself up. It was a rare feat for him but his entire body was covered with dried dirt and blood. He was in the farthest tent with a damp towel in hand—trying to reach his back but every time he tried, his side hurt.

"Shit," he spitted, annoyed.

He stopped trying for a while and breathed. He was about to give up when he heard some faint footsteps. He turned around and saw the girl from the shack trying to walk away silently.

"Hey," he called, still sitting on the tent's floor. The girl stopped, sighed and turned around. Daryl eyed the backpack. "Goin' somewhere?"

"Sorry," she muttered. "I was going to ask but it looked like you won't appreciate someone disturbing you." Emyli walked back toward the tent. "I'm looking for my baseball bat."

Daryl looked away from her and said, "Ya'r unconscious, I've got a hole on 'ma side with ya'r pack and the bow. Haven't got 'naff hands to carry ya'r bat."

Emyli didn't answer. Daryl felt her footsteps again, walking away. He turned around once more.

"Hey!" It was louder this time; Daryl could feel his anger rising. He tried to keep his tone down. "We got axe, hammers—hell we got screwdrivers. Take yer pick but dun' ye go back to the woods."

Emyli stopped and looked at Daryl. "That baseball bat was my sister's," she said, coolly. "It was the only thing I have that's hers," then she walked again.

"We don't need another missing little girl," Daryl said.

Emyli stopped on her tracks and walked back toward Daryl, not carrying her feet at all. Daryl stood up and stepped outside the tent. Emyli stopped in front of him, a blank expression still on her face.

"I'm not a little girl," she whispered but firmly. Emyli looked straight and Daryl's chest was on her eye-level—that was how _little_ she was. She looked up at Daryl and Daryl looked her down. "I'm twenty-three," she said, "I'm not Sophia."

Daryl looked away, not speaking.

Emyli stepped back and sighed. "I also wanted to see if you're okay," she mumbled.

Daryl climbed back to tent and returned to his sitting position.

"'M good," Daryl mumbled back. He looked at her and hesitantly added, "you?"

Emyli shrugged, "the fever's gone….. Can I come in?"

Daryl just pointed to a spot across him. Emyli stepped inside.

No one spoke for the next couple of minutes. Daryl returned to reaching his back with the towel but was still unsuccessful.

"Ahm, here," Emyli put her backpack down and sat beside Daryl with her hand outstretched, "let me help."

Daryl scowled and looked at the girl studying her. Emyli returned his look with a blank stare.

The girl was not exactly fair—pale is the better word. The way her coal-black hair frames her face, and how her eyes looked clear and innocent…the girl looked like an angel. It's something Daryl has never seen even before the rise of the walkers.

Daryl looked away and snorted—and not knowing the reason why he's allowing this, he threw the towel into Emyli's hand.

"Knock yer self out," he taunted her.

Emyli positioned herself near Daryl's back and began cleaning him up. She tried to hold on to Daryl's shoulder for anchor but Daryl's shoulders tensed and pulled away.

"Easy," Emyli comforted him. She lightly placed her hand back on Daryl's shoulder and wiped the dirt gently, carefully. Daryl looked at her dead serious face, intently rubbing a spot with her hand. He didn't know she was almost done when he completely pulled and moved away.

"Give me your hand," Emyli's now sitting in front of Daryl.

"I can do that," Daryl barked and tried to take the towel away from her but Emyli was quick to get it out of his reach.

"It's obvious it's not every day you do this so we have to do it properly," Emyli explained stubbornly. "Now give me your hand."

"Pft." Daryl gave her and tried to avoid her eyes.

Emyli wet the towel with the water in the basin. She started with Daryl's right.

"I used to do this for my father after we go hunting," she recounted while holding Daryl's hand and wiping the dirt off the back of his palm.

"Ya'r daddy's little girl, huh?" Daryl commented.

Emyli just shrugged and went on gently towelling the spaces between Daryl's fingers. Daryl didn't know why his anger was rising again just looking at the girl's face—obviously deeply absorbed on the task.

"That hair," Daryl grunted nodding at Emyli's waist-long locks, "that'll be the death of ye. Cut it. Tie it. Just dun' let it loose like that."

Emyli looked up to him. There's a subtle smile playing at the corner of her lips. She then looked at Daryl's hand again letting her hair veil the sides of her face. This made Daryl more pissed. Emyli did not respond and went for his other hand. She wiped the palm and the back of it.

"I'm gonna pull it and cut it myself," Daryl warned.

Emyli just continued, now rubbing the sides of his nails trying to remove the dirt there.

"I'm not scared of you," she whispered.

Daryl didn't know what to make of her. He pulled his hand away and glared at Emyli.

Emyli gave the towel back to him and went for her bag.

"Something you might like," she handed a bottle of Southern Comfort to Daryl and then stood up to leave. She was already outside the tent when Daryl called out.

"Nice parting gift," Daryl said with an exasperated look. "Can't complain if ye wanna be dinner to those walkers—an' for a damned baseball bat!"

Emyli walked up to Daryl again—it was becoming a repetitive dance. She studied his furious face. And then she broke her blank expression with an unexpected amused smile.

"You really are like my dog," she commented and then added almost unintelligibly, "always angry." Before Daryl could react, "I'll get back before bedtime," Emyli said coolly; she grabbed the bottle and took it from Daryl, "and drink this with you."

She finally was able to walk away leaving Daryl without the liquor—but that was not the only reason he's officially angry at her.

* * *

Emyli walked up to the RV wondering how she'll get back to the shack. She stopped on her tracks, though, when she heard Glenn and Lori talking.

"You're pregnant," Glenn said. Both of them subtly looked around making sure no one is around. They didn't see Emyli. "You need medicine, vitamins…a nice pillow."

Lori ignored him and kept working on putting water on a pot.

"Lori, you have a medical condition," whispered Glenn. "I'll make another run into to town. Just tell me what you need."

"I need you to be quiet about this," Lori responded. "All right? Please."

Emyli moved on silently. She suddenly remembered the dairy, her cousin Abby…her dad. Her head ache as some snippets of her dream earlier flashed into her mind. By the time she reached the house, she has decided—now she just needed a way to get there.

"Emyli!" Beth and Patricia were walking away from the house toward Rick and the others who were around the car studying a map. Beth went back for Emyli when she saw her approaching. "We just got permission from dad to join them for shooting lesson. Wanna come?"

Emyli stared at her for a bit.

"I'd be more comfortable if you tag along," Beth said, "And learning how to shoot a gun comes handy these days, right?

Emyli nodded.

"Sure," she answered. "I'll come with you."

Beth smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

It was already late in the afternoon when Daryl went out of his tent. He was pretty sure the girl went ahead with her plan to go back to the shack; still he wanted to confirm this not knowing why.

A car stopped near the camp; Shane and Andrea went out of it. Daryl stopped and tried not to listen to Dale nag at Shane. When that was over, Daryl walked toward the camp again, carefully looking around for the girl. He found a frying pan instead and ate crumbs of canned meat left there. He nodded at Rick who's walking toward Lori's tent. Carol went out of hers when she saw Daryl up and about.

"Obviously feeling better," she greeted Daryl and then gave him a plate with a piece of meat. "I saved one for you."

"Thanks," and Daryl ate the meat with his hands.

Dale suddenly rushed to them. "Have you seen Emyli?"

Carol shook her head; Daryl looked unconcerned. "You should stop worryin' 'bout everyone," he said.

"I think she joined Rick and the others earlier," Dale tried to explain still with a concerned look on his face. "Everyone's back a couple of hours ago but not her."

Daryl shrugged, "prob'ly jus' playin' 'round." He finished eating the meat and gave the plate back to Carol.

Daryl went back to his tent, and angrily prepared his crossbow.

"You win, silly girl—can't wait for bedtime," he murmured. "I'm gonna get that bottle of Comfort back."

* * *

**Next chapter: **Daryl discovers one of Emyli's ghastly secrets...

* * *

**Writer's Note:**

Hi guys!

I would really love to hear from you, so please leave a review :)

My chapter titles are obviously from the TV program's episodes. That is because I really do intend to make my story parallel to the series. But of course I will be making minor and significant changes.

I intend to write this fanfic as long as Daryl lives in TWD series.

I will put new chapters at most 1 week apart from each other-but I will try to write faster.

Let me know what you think of my story.

Thanks :)


	3. Chapter 3 - Secrets (Part 2)

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Emyli recovered from her fever. She asked Daryl about her baseball bat and helped him clean up. Emyli overheard that Lori is pregnant. She joined the gun training but did not return to the farm. Daryl decided to look for her and bring her back.

* * *

Chapter 3:** SECRETS (PART 2)**

* * *

The shack was as they left it: dead bodies outside, cot, blanket and whatnots inside. Emyli was nowhere in sight, though. And when Daryl saw the bloody, barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat he cursed; it confirmed that the girl never returned to the shack—that's why he didn't see any tracks earlier. She must be someplace else.

Daryl picked the baseball bat up and rolled it with a cloth. He was about to leave when his eyes were caught by gleam coming from the cot Emyli must have used. Daryl half-kneeled and reached for the object. It was a small chest. He opened the lid and a low, slow music played. It had a sad melody. Daryl closed it and brought the musical box with him.

Daryl went back to the farm. Earlier, he borrowed a horse from Hershel so he put the horse first in its shed and then went to the RV where he found Dale and Carol.

"Wen' out looking fo' her," he told Dale. Dale responded with a half-scared, half-worried look. "She's not with you," Dale commented. Daryl shook his head.

"Come on," Carol sighed and walked toward Daryl. "You should be healing," she tried to walk him by the arm, "that wound—"

"No," Daryl pulled his arm away from the woman. "I should be lookin' fo' her."

"You're not healed yet," Carol pleaded.

"Hey, hey, something's up?" Shane approached them having heard the commotion. He was followed by T-Dog.

Daryl rubbed his neck hard, irritated. Shane's meddling was the last thing he needed.

"Emyli," Dale answered. "She was with you for the practice shooting. She didn't return, though."

Shane pulled his eyebrows together and then ran his palm on his face. "Thought she went back with the others," he said.

"No, no," T-Dog responded, confused. "She said she'll follow you for the advanced session," he told Shane. All eyes went to T-Dog. "I mean…that girl can really shoot, man. She can take one look at the target and take 'em out close-eyed, it's crazy."

Shane stared at him unbelieving, "no," he said shaking his head, "she wasn't with us."

Daryl kicked the air, "great." He was about to run off when he saw Hershel and Beth hurriedly approaching them from the house.

"She's not in the woods?" Hershel asked Daryl in between breaths. Daryl just shook his head.

Beth stepped forward. "She told us she'll follow Shane and Andrea," she said. "I saw her run toward where they were practicing."

Everyone looked at Shane. "Yeah? But she never arrived," he explained. "We were there but she never walked up to us. Didn't even see her."

For a while, no one spoke. Daryl stepped toward Hershel and signalled him to hand over the map he's carrying. He unfolded it on a table and looked.

"Where did you an' Andrea go after?" he asked. Everyone gathered around the map.

"Here, to this village," Shane pointed.

"That's just an hour walk to Antonia's dairy," Hershel commented.

"Antonia?" Daryl asked.

"The girl came from that dairy," Hershel answered.

They looked at each other, understanding.

Daryl set his crossbow to his back, picked up the baseball bat and snagged the map. He walked past everyone already when Carol called out: "The light's almost out," she said, "just look for her tomorrow, Daryl." Daryl stopped, looked back and glared at Carol. Carol tried to reason out with him. "Sh-she survived by herself in the woods for over a month. I bet she can hold out for one night. That girl is tough."

"Tough or not you can die out there." Daryl said firmly, pointing beyond the farm. "That girl saved my life. Dun' care why she ran off like that but if she wants to die, she can do it after I get her back 'ere."

"I'm goin' with ya," T-Dog declared.

"No," Daryl said, "can't risk more men for a girl we hardly know. Jus' leave this to me."

T-Dog was about to argue with him but Shane looked at him and shook his head, "he's right," he said.

No one spoke as they watched Daryl get to his motorcycle. He tied the end of the cloth holding the baseball bat to one of the vehicle's handle bars; he then rode and drove.

* * *

Emyli sat with her back on the wall, hugging her knees. She could hear the rasps and groans from the other room.

Emyli never wanted to go back to the dairy since the night they were attacked—not when she was finally free, not just from the walkers but from her family; specifically from her father. But now she knew she was just dismissing the thought, burying it at the back of her mind so she wouldn't be tempted to go back. The truth was, going back was all that she wanted—that's why she didn't get too far from the dairy even though she could hit the road and go somewhere else. She wanted to go back…and look. Because that's what living people do: they want to look and stare at the dead to find meaning in their lives; to find answers and closures.

When she heard that Lori was pregnant, it provided her a reason to go back. Her cousin Abby _was _pregnant; she thought she could get everything Lori would need from the dairy and she just needed a way to get here. She went with the shooting practice to see and try if she could sneak and "borrow" one of their vehicles. She didn't want anyone's help. She knew that when Lori's condition is discovered, Rick will gladly go with her but she didn't want that. Because deep in her heart, she knew she might not go back to the farm. Because that's also what living people do: they stare at the dead…and find nothing; nothing to live for.

She tried hard not to get too much attention; she hit some targets and purposely missed some. T-Dog commended her but also told her to practice more. She encouraged Beth. Afterwards, Emyli saw Andrea shooting at something other than the bottles. She was approached by Shane and Rick and after a few moments, Shane and she went out of sight to continue to an "advanced session".

"T-Dog, where is Shane going to after this?" Emyli had asked him.

"Think he got a lead and wi' look for Sophia," T-Dog had answered. "Why?"

"Do you think I can join them?" Emyli added, "with the practice session, I mean."

T-Dog raised one of his eyebrows telling her she was still not ready for it.

"Okay, look here." Emyli looked at the target bottle, then looked back at T-Dog and aimed, fired and hit the bottle shattering it. "I can do that—my father saw to it that I can at least do that. I can do that with unmoving targets." Then she lied, "I want to be that good with moving ones."

T-Dog looked at her unbelieving. Beth was too amazed to speak. T-Dog finally just shrugged and nodded her off. Emyli, then, ran toward where Shane and Andrea went. She didn't intend to join them as she didn't need to practice with moving targets. What she needed was a lift. She had approached them with her silent feet. She hid behind a tree and listened.

Andrea could not hit the swinging log. Emyli could tell Shane wanted Andrea to learn fast so he was pushing her to her limits. In the end, Shane went too far and it ticked-off Andrea. He kind of apologized by asking her to come with him, back him up and look for Sophia in the village. That was Emyli's cue.

She brisk-walked to Shane's green Tucson as silently as she could without anyone seeing her. It looked, though, that everyone, except from the three of them, already went back to the farm. She was praying Shane did not lock the SUV—which she knew was ridiculous so she tried to think of another way to sneak in as she approached it. Her heart nearly went out of her chest when she saw the vehicle's rear was open. Apparently, it was where they were getting the target bottles; there were three more left. Someone forgot to push the door close; probably Jimmy because he was the last one who fetched some bottles. Emyli took her bag off her and climbed. She closed the door, put her bag in front of her making sure it's not visible from the front seat and then ducked—almost in fetal position facing the floor. The back seat covered her. A few minutes after, Shane and Andrea rode as well. They were too busy minding the awkward silence between them that they did not notice that there's an unwanted passenger. Emyli ran off to the dairy the moment Shane and Andrea went out of sight as they explored the village to look for Sophia.

Emyli hated killing walkers at an arm's distance with the baseball bat. But on her way back to the dairy through the woods, she actually came to appreciate the bat's few extra inches compared to her knives. She had two fixed-blade combat bowie knives with black-finished blade and handle. Although they were longer compared to ordinary bowies, Emyli still felt exposed. Luckily she still had the gun from the practice; she put it in her back pocket. Then she held the knives with blades sticking sideways.

She met a number of walkers that seemed to be travelling by packs in the woods. She almost regretted not using the road that leads to the dairy but she had thought it would be like travelling a circle through its circumference compared to walking the woods which is like travelling through its diameter. She did not dare going in the offensive. She used her light feet and hid behind trees. She could not do anything about the smell so she just tried to get past them fast without making any significant noise. She arrived at the dairy unscathed and only had to kill one walker who wandered off the pack and found her.

Emyli expected the dairy to be full of walkers; but the remaining geeks on the field are also walking toward the direction where the packs were heading—away from the dairy. She didn't dare look closely at the bodies on the field, scared who she might find there; she just worked her way silently to the back of the house not risking entering it at the front. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it would explode. Everything from the night of the attack was rushing, flooding her mind like a movie in fast-forward. It was scary and painful. She had held her breath before turning the knob of the door. It was locked—the way their father left it that night. She reached for her pocket and pulled a key, with knife in the other hand, she opened the door.

The house was empty—no walkers inside. She checked, threaded carefully and she was able to confirm that the doors and windows were bolted shut just as they left it. The house was safe. She rummaged through Abby's room at the first floor and stuffed her bag with all kinds of pregnancy stuff she thought would be helpful to Lori. _So I decided to return, then_, she had thought. Emyli was about to leave when she heard rumblings from the second floor.

Emyli had climbed the stairs carefully, carrying her feet all the way. The noise was coming from the room they had been sleeping in. She bit her lip so hard it bled when she realized what had happened. She knew she was a fool to open the door where the noise was coming from—but she also knew that she had to see. She had put her bag down and had readied her knives but she was not prepared when she saw what was inside.

The walker attacked her the moment Emyli was in sight. It tried to grab her arm but she was able to duck and when she got back up, she stabbed the walker on both sides where shoulders and arms connect. She pushed him to a wooden closet not letting go of the knives still plugged on the walker. She could never have done that to him when he was still alive—the walker was tall and has a built of a soldier. Emyli was never as thankful as she was that death takes away so much of the person. This man used to be fast and agile; a beast on two feet. But death reduced him to a slow, brainless meat who only answers to his need to eat. Emyli never even dreamed before that the day would come she would have the privilege to end this man's life—never mind that that life was that of his walker version.

Emyli pulled both knives and stabbed the same spot harder, pinning the walker immobile. She then stared at him and tried to sense what she felt for him. Emyli was unimpressed by her own thoughts. She pulled one knife from the walker and stabbed its stomach. Blood came out and as she twisted the knife violently, guts spilled—but she was still unimpressed. In the end, Emyli pulled the other knife and walked out of the room. She grabbed a chair and put it under the door's handle to prevent the door from opening. Emyli, then, went to the next room and sulked, both bloody palms on her face.

She could still hear her father's groans from the other room.

* * *

Daryl surprisingly had an uneventful journey to the dairy. Lights were out already and he was concerned about the noise the motorcycle was making but he didn't meet any walkers. That fact actually worried him more as that could mean they are travelling in the woods; the path that Emyli most likely chose having no vehicle with her.

Daryl left his motorcycle near the house's entrance. The front door was locked. He studied the patches of grass and soil and was able to track Emyli's marks. He followed them to the back door which was left opened. It's hard holding the crossbow in place while his other hand carried the baseball bat. Daryl took a flashlight from his back pocket, turned it on and put it in his mouth. He locked the door behind him and started searching in the dark. He can hear faint sounds from upstairs so he climbed to the second floor. His light touched a small figure inside one of the rooms. Daryl aimed his crossbow and then heard a gun click.

"Little girl?" he called. He walked toward the figure carefully and when his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, he saw Emyli lowering her gun. Daryl lowered his weapon as well and removed the light from his mouth.

"You shouldn't have followed me," Emyli whispered.

"Then ye shouldn't have showed me the booze," Daryl replied coolly. He walked toward the window.

Daryl found candle and matches on the side table. He lit the candle and it was then that he was able to fully see Emyli. The anger he had been nurturing on his way here collapsed. She was an unsettling view: Her pale face has patches of blood with some strands of her black hair sticking on it. Her innocent eyes were now as empty as her blank expressions. Daryl asked with narrowed eyes: "Wha' the hell happened to ya?" Then he sat down a few inches from her, his back pressed on the wall as well.

"Nothing," Emyli mumbled. "Nothing happened."

"Fine." Daryl pushed the cloth wrapping the baseball bat towards Emyli. "Here's ye'r bat," he said. She unwrapped it and stared at Daryl unbelieving.

"You went back there?" Emyli asked.

Daryl just shrugged. He stretched his left leg and folded the other one. He put his right elbow on his left knee and massaged his chin and upper lip with his fingers as if thinking.

They were silent for a few seconds and then Daryl muttered: "I was hopin' to see ye being chased by 'em walkers. You deserve it after runnin' away like that."

Emyli could feel Daryl suppressing his anger. She didn't want him to hide it; she supposed he had the right to be angry at her so she taunted him: "Well I'm sorry you didn't get to save the day."

"What do we do now?" Daryl asked. "Pack-up? You said ya'll be back on the farm before bedtime."

Emyli sighed. "I can't do that," she answered shaking her head. "You can go now if you want." She looked at Daryl. "Thank you. For bringing back the baseball bat," Emyli said trying her best to sound tender. It had always been hard for her to sound believable. Whenever she said thank you to someone, even though she totally meant it, it always sounded flat and apathetic. "And I'm sorry for causing you trouble." Emyli looked away from Daryl. "As for the booze, it's in the bag so you can just ge—."

"What? You still have an unfinished business?" Daryl snorted.

Emyli tried to respond but she was cut by the loud grumbling in the next room. Daryl instinctively grabbed his crossbow and stood up.

"You got a pet 'ere!?" Daryl asked angrily. He did not wait for the girl; he was about to storm out of the room to finish the damned thing but Emyli held him by the wrist.

"Please, let him be for a while," Emyli said with a low voice.

* * *

"I really intended to go back to the farm," Emyli explained. Daryl was able to calm himself, controlled his temper. When Emyli said it's her father that's in the next room, Daryl let out a deep breath and pulled himself to a sitting position again beside Emyli. "I…I just wanted—needed to know what happened to him." Emyli looked at Daryl with her blank expression. "He _is _my father. And _I _needed to know."

Daryl just nodded slowly in acknowledgment.

"My mom died when I was eight," Emyli recounted looking away from Daryl. "My sister, Kate, was just four. My father was a soldier and he was always away we barely knew him. When I turned thirteen, my father was granted an early retirement; I think it was because of a medical condition. He went home one day. I and Kate were hiding behind grandma. He was a stranger. We were very scared.

"Our first night with him, he laid down three rules. Number one: We are to make him proud—in whatever we do. He did not care what it was as long as we make him proud. Number two: Any kind of failure will not be tolerated as it violates rule number one. All kinds of failure will be severely punished. And lastly: No crying—as crying is an indication that we failed." Emyli stopped for a while and tried to sense how she feels recalling, telling these tales—but it is just emptiness that she found.

"He might not have been a good father," Emyli continued, "but I know that he loved me and Kate," she added looking at Daryl. "I had always loved the outdoors and he taught me a lot of things about hunting. I was in awe just watching, following him in the woods. He taught me how to shoot—but I was best in making snares. He said I had a knack in knowing where to put them. And he said I was the best hunting partner he ever had," Emyli allowed herself a subtle smile. "Those days, I lived for his compliments—he gave them so very unexpectedly. Most of the time I just got nods from him—and those weren't enough for me so I would always try harder. Because I truly wanted him to be proud of me…and because I didn't want to get punished with the rod."

Emyli pulled her knees closer to her and hugged them. "Of course I didn't learn easily. I couldn't pull the trigger properly and recoils always made me miss my target. _You failed again, Em-Em_, he would say, _that is against rule number one and two…._ That would always make me tremble and miss my target by miles. And when I started crying, that would be the time his lips would twitch. His face will turn beet red and his knuckles, white. He would be enraged and he would tell me, _you're making me do this. I don't want to give you __the rod__, you're making me do this._ Then he would rip my dress and give me the rodand it would hurt everywhere." Emyli buried her head on her knees. "It hurt everywhere. Ten years…it hurt everywhere."

Daryl averted his eyes from the girl. He reached out with his arm and hesitantly—not quite sure how to do it properly—stroked Emyli's hair gently. She raised her head a little and looked at Daryl with tearless eyes. Daryl pulled his hand back.

"I protected Kate," Emyli said firmly. "I didn't want her to experience that kind of pain. I swore he could do whatever he wants with me but I would now allow him to hurt Kate."

Emyli took a deep breath.

"I went back here to face him and get a closure," she said. "I pinned him and looked at him…." Emyli bit her lower lip. "I wanted to feel…something. Anything at all. I wanted to know if I have forgiven him or if…if I wanted revenge." Emyli stared at Daryl who's staring back at her, listening intently. "But what I felt was…nothing." She shook her head. "Nothing at all."

They were silent for a while. Then Emyli said with her head back down: "I don't want to live with this numbness anymore…. I want to die."

It was Daryl's turn to raise his head. He looked at the girl: wounded and broken. He let out a deep breath and reached for the baseball bat. He took Emyli's hand and put it around the bat's end. Emyli took it and looked at him.

"Nah, ye gotta live," he whispered with a hint of smile in his voice. Daryl looked away and said, "You saved me and I still owe ya. You gotta let a man pay his debts—so you can't die until then."

Emyli looked at Daryl not looking at her. It was for a while and then she bowed her head and for the first time in a long time, smiled a genuine smile; it made her heart swell.

And when Daryl almost thought she would not reply, Emyli whispered: "Alright, then."

They didn't talk after that—they didn't need to. The flame ate the candle and it was all dark save for the moonlight peeking through the curtains. It was a few moments after when Daryl felt Emyli's head drop on his shoulder. He looked at her face: sleeping and peacefully.

Daryl rested his head on the wall. He too, fell asleep.

* * *

**Next chapter: **Dale discovers something as Emyli looks at Daryl….


	4. Chapter 4 - Pretty Much Dead Already

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Daryl found Emyli in her aunt's dairy. Emyli told him her story. Emyli wanted to die, but Daryl told her that she must live on.

* * *

Chapter 4: **PRETTY MUCH DEAD ALREADY**

* * *

Daryl's lower eyelids twitched in anger when he woke up without Emyli beside him. He stood up, mentally scolding himself for dozing and cursing the girl for running off again. Daryl took a peek from the window. It was still dark; he surmised it will be a couple of hours before dawn. He picked his light and crossbow up. He was able to locate Emyli's bag on the floor—but the baseball bat, the handgun and her hunting knives were nowhere in sight. He turned the flashlight on and put it in his mouth; he readied his weapon as he approached the door. It's closed. He opened it aiming with his crossbow, half-expecting the walker from the other room to attack. The door opened but there's no one on the other side.

The other room's door was ajar. Daryl approached the room with caution. He kicked the door open: no rasping and groaning, no walker inside; but there were patches of blood on the floor. He followed the red trail with his eyes and light and it led to a figure wrapped in bloodied white blanket. He felt a light tap on his shoulder; Daryl instinctively turned around with his crossbow ready to fire.

"Breakfast," Emyli was handing him a bar of Snickers, undaunted by the arrow aimed at her.

"You have a knack for slippin' away, huh, silly girl?" Daryl snarled after putting the light away; he let go of an exasperated breath as he put down the crossbow.

"I didn't want to wake you up," Emyli answered casually. "I put him out," she added nodding at the bulky, bloody, rolled blanket.

Daryl stared at Emyli with narrowed eyes looking for any trace of emotion—but there was none.

"Breakfast," Emyli repeated handing him the candy bar. "I'm sorry. I don't know how to cook." Daryl reluctantly accepted it, and as he did, he noticed the girl was holding her baseball bat with her other hand. Apparently she had removed the barbed wire and had cleaned it. Emyli walked past him and went for the blanket. She began pulling it, dragging it on the floor towards the door. Daryl went for it as well, after pocketing the Snickers. He was about to lift the body from the floor when Emyli stopped her.

"Don't strain yourself," she cautioned, "your stitches are still fresh."

"Well 'ya can't drag 'im down the stairs, can you?" Daryl reasoned.

"Ok, I'll drag it to the stairs and then we'll carry it," Emyli said.

That's what they did. When they finally were able to make it outside, Emyli led Daryl to the side of the dairy not far from the house. There's a pit waiting for them there…and a smaller bundle of blanket.

"We were supposed to bury a dead cow," Emyli explained. Daryl remained quiet as they lower the bulky blanket to the dip. Emyli carried the smaller bundle and placed it next to the first one.

Daryl and Emyli picked a shovel each.

Once the pit was covered, Emyli knelt on the ground and sat on her heels. She whispered: "My father once told me…that children honour their parents by outliving them, and burying them once they die," she looked at Daryl. "I could imagine myself doing this for him," she nodded, "but not for my sister."

Daryl let out a sigh, and then looked around. He went for a single yellow flower sitting on wild grasses' midst. He walked towards Emyli, half-kneeled and placed the flower on the grave. He looked at her and held her stare firmly…and he nodded without saying a word. He stood up and stepped away.

"Be waitin' for ya on the other side," Daryl said, but before he completely turned to walk, he added threateningly, "no more slippin' away, little girl."

It was still quite dark when Emyli finally emerged from the house's front door. She had her backpack on again with the end of the baseball bat peeking from the inside. She was wearing a belt with loaded knife sheaths placed on both sides of her hips. But what Daryl noticed was Emyli's long, black hair tied in mid-pony tail. He stopped chewing on the candy bar and stared at her as she locked the door.

"I was thinkin' tha' we should pick this house clean," Daryl said, matter-of-factly using the half-eaten Snickers to point the house. He was leaning on his motorcycle. Emyli walked towards him: fresh-faced, wearing clean, new clothes. "I already have everything that we need," she answered tapping the strap of the bag on her shoulder. "Besides, you should never put all your coins in one pocket. We may have the farm now, but you never know when we'll need a loaded house."

"An' if another group gets 'ere?" Daryl challenged.

"Then another group is safe," Emyli answered instantly—"for a while."

"Fine," Daryl shrugged. He put the remaining half of the candy bar in his mouth and rode his motorcycle. Emyli took the cue and positioned herself behind Daryl; she stepped over the vehicle using one leg and sat. Daryl started the engine and drove.

The dawn was breaking when they reached the road. Daryl took a glance at Emyli: her bangs and ponytail being blown by the wind; both of her hands were on her side ready to pull her black hunting knives. He thought hard deciding if he should say it. In the end, Daryl gritted his teeth and said: "Hold on to me."

"Sorry?" Emily said.

Daryl sighed, irritated that he had to say it again. "Ya'll fall. Hold on to me."

"I need my hands in case we meet some walkers," Emyli explained, trying to be heard despite the engine noise.

Daryl could feel his anger rising. "They ain't here. Just do wha' I say!"

"But your stitches—."

This ticked Daryl off. He revved the engine and Emyli would have fallen backwards if she didn't catch Daryl's waist on time. Daryl, on the other hand, flinched in pain but tried not to let it show.

"You didn't have to do that," Emyli whispered. Daryl glanced at her again with a smug look on his face. "Can't afford you runnin' off again." He looked at the road ahead then looked back at Emyli. When he finally looked away from her, he said this loudly so Emyli could hear him clearly through the motorcycle's rumble: "You can cry now. No one can hear ya. And nobody's lookin'."

Emyli had to pause for a while to process what he said. She didn't know what to do. At that moment, she wanted to see Daryl's face and ask him, but he didn't look behind nor speak again. After a few moments, she felt her arms relaxed—then she gave in to the grief she had been holding at bay for over a month now. She bit her lower lip; put her head on his back and hid behind it.

Holding on to Daryl, with the sun rising from the east, Emyli mourned for her sister.

* * *

The people camped on Hershel's field were up when Daryl and Emyli reached the farm. Dale immediately walked up to them.

"Where did you go?" Dale asked Emyli with a concerned voice and relieved expression.

"I just had to go back and get some things done," Emyli answered as she watched Daryl join the group in their breakfast. "I won't leave again," she assured Dale.

"Well you better run up to the house," Dale pointed to it. "They were worried about you."

Emyli nodded and brisk walked towards the house. She saw Maggie at the porch eying Glenn from there; she then went inside where Beth smiled at the sight of her.

"You're back" Beth said.

"I am," Emyli told her.

Emyli found Hershel reading; she walked up to him and apologized. Hershel told her not to run off like that again and she nodded. She let her hair loose and put her bag down inside the room where she stayed in the other night. She then went out and saw the group in front of the barn. Emyli ran towards them as there seemed to be a commotion going on.

"What's up?" she whispered to Carl.

"It's full of walkers," Carl answered pertaining to the barn.

Suddenly there were rasping and snarling from behind the barn's wooden entrance.

"Ok," Shane declared pacing all over the place trying to talk calmly, "we either gotta go in there, we gotta make things right or we just gotta go." He stopped walking near Rick and put on his cap. "Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time—."

"We can't go!" Rick cut him off firmly.

"Why Rick, why?" Shane challenged him.

Carol stepped forward. "Cause my daughter is still out there?"

"Okay," Shane covered his face with both his palms in his attempt to calmly defend his case, "Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility…."

"Shane, we're not leaving Sophia behind," Rick warned him.

"I'm close to finding this girl," Daryl snarled at Shane, "I just found 'er damn doll two days ago!"

"You found her _doll_, Daryl," Shane taunted him, "That's what you did. You found _a _doll.

"You don't know what the hell ya'r talkin' about!" Daryl roared, swaying a hand on Shane's direction. Rick immediately put an arm between the two.

"I'm just saying what needs to be said!" Shane argued. Rick shushed him but he continued: "You get a good lead in the first forty-eight hours…."

"Shane, stop!" Rick said.

"Let me tell you something else, man," Shane sneered at Daryl, "If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and bloodied face, she would run in the other direction!"

"Shut up!" Daryl charged at Shane pointing his finger at him. Rick was quick to get in-between them. Shane and Daryl kept shouting at each other, attempting to charge at each other. The others tried to get close to keep the two apart.

Emyli was just watching everyone closely until then. She ran towards Daryl and tried to hold his arm. Finally, Rick pushed Daryl away and shouted back-off at Shane. Daryl glared at Emyli and pulled his arm away.

"Keep your hand off me," Shane hissed at Lori, and then he started walking away from the barn.

"Now let me just talk to Hershel," Rick said, "let me figure it out."

This seemed to have angered Shane more as he charged back to Rick's direction: "What are you gonna figure out!?" he bellowed. Lori tried to push him back, "enough!" she said.

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it," Rick said. "This is his land!"

It was then that Dale stepped forward and explained the whole thing. Hershel sees the walkers as sick people. His wife and stepson were inside as well. This knowledge confused and angered Rick; Dale said he talked to Hershel yesterday and he was about to tell them this morning. But Glenn wanted to be the one to tell it to the group.

Shane was about to shout again but everyone was silenced when the rasping and snarling from the barn became louder than ever.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Daryl barked at her. When the group dispersed from the barn scene, Emyli immediately went to the stables; she knew Daryl would want to look for Sophia again at once.

Emyli tapped the horse's face gently and turned to face Daryl. "You're gonna look for her with a newly-sewn side and I won't be able to do anything to stop you," she told him. "So I'll just go with you as your back-up."

Daryl looked at her with narrowed eyes from head to toe as if sizing her up.

"Fine," he said but then he stepped forward and pointed a finger at her, "but ya'll stay close to me."

Emyli nodded.

"I'll get this one," Daryl told her looking at the horse she tapped earlier. "Go get another an' look for a saddle."

Emyli moved to follow his instructions. She was about to enter a shed when Daryl called out: "An' you tie ya'r hair!" he shouted at her threateningly.

She entered the shed and looked for a saddle. A few seconds later she heard Daryl from outside placing one on a stand. Emyli peeked from the inside and saw Carol hurrying towards Daryl.

"You can't," she told him.

Daryl tried to ignore her and just said he's fine.

"Hershel said you need to heal," Carol argued, determined.

"Yeah, I don't care," he breathed.

"Well, I do," she told him, following his every move. Daryl continued to ignore her and opened the horse's stable. "Rick's going out later to follow the trail."

"Yeah, well I ain't gonna sit around and do nothing."

Carol crossed her arms. "No, you're gonna go out there and get yourself hurt even worse. We don't know if we're gonna find her, Daryl. We don't."

Daryl stopped preparing the horse upon hearing that. He turned to Carol with narrowed eyes.

"I don't."

"What?" Daryl muttered.

"I can't lose you, too." Carol told him.

Daryl stared at her for a while and then he dropped the horse bridle. He walked past her, looked back at Carol as if disgusted, and then he went back for the saddle on the stand and threw it away. He flinched and held his side in pain.

"Are you all right?" Carol hurried to him only to be shunned.

"Just leave me be!" Daryl shouted then walked away. "Stupid bitch."

Emyli sighed. When Carol left the stable, she went out of the shed. A few moments after, Emyli went back to the house and then went for Daryl's tent at the farthest part of the camp.

"Hey," she called softly. Daryl's lying down toying with his arrow. He scowled when he saw her and averted her eyes.

"Carol," Emyli started slowly, "she was just worried about you."

"Why don't ya run along and leave me in peace?" Daryl sneered and turned his back on her.

"Okay," Emyli stepped inside the tent and left the bottle of Southern Comfort near Daryl's bed. Then she walked away.

* * *

Emyli went on and approached the RV. It had Glenn on the roof manning the watch. He looked miserable. Emyli climbed to the vehicle's roof.

"Must have been hard keeping a secret like that," she told him.

Glenn nodded with a bitter smile. "My hat got egged for telling it," he pointed to Dale's hat he was wearing.

Emyli's lips slightly twitched into a smile.

"Would you like to rest for a bit?" she offered. "I can cover for you."

"T-Dog said you're good with guns," Glenn looked at her as if confirming this.

"Good enough to shoot a walker there from here," Emyli answered pointing far across the field.

Glenn followed her finger then smiled at her. "Alright," he hands her the rifle, "I'll just get some water."

Emyli accepted the gun and put the strap on her shoulder. "No problem. Take your time."

Glenn got off the RV. A few minutes later, Emyli heard people coming out of the vehicle. She saw Andrea storm out of it followed by Dale with a glum look on his face.

"Is the breeze nice there?" asked Dale.

"It's not much but good enough," Emyli answered. Dale climbed to the roof and joined her.

Emyli studied his face for a bit then looked away to the field.

"It looks heavy," she whispered.

"What is?" Dale asked, confused.

Emyli shrugged, "whatever burden you're carrying. It looks heavy."

Dale let out a deep breath and said, "because it is."

"Maybe you should let people carry their own," she looked at Dale with a hardened expression.

Dale pulled his eyebrows together and looked at Emyli. "You seem to know everything that's going on."

Emyli shook her head. "I don't…_know. _I _feel _it," she said looking faraway again. "I grew up in a house where I had to read—and _feel _every change of tone, every shift in movement…in order to protect my sister from our father."

Dale's expression suddenly loosened, replaced by concern.

"You worry about Rick, who doubts his own leadership," Emyli said. "You worry about Shane being a threat to the group. You worry about Andrea…a lot. But I think it makes her feel uncomfortable." Emyli looked at Dale who is listening intently. "You worry about me—a newcomer who you don't even know that well. You look out for everyone." Emyli shook her head. "I don't know how you do it.

"I only cared for one person, my sister. And it was already difficult. And painful. The more people that you care for, the more vulnerable you are." Emyli looked at Dale and held his stare. "You are a good person. It must be difficult being you."

Dale was speechless and just shrugged and smiled. "And all this time I thought I was just being nosy."

They shared a short, gentle laughter.

"You…you are a breath a fresh air," Dale blurted. Emyli, with a blank expression, just raised both her eyebrows as if to ask, _really?_ "How old did you say you are again?"

"I didn't," she answered, "I'm twenty-three."

"You seem to have lived longer than that," Dale commented. "Where did you go?" he asked the same question he asked her earlier when she arrived with Daryl.

Emyli looked down. "To my aunt's dairy," she answered. "I—we buried my father and my sister."

Dale nodded. "I thought it was for something like that; my condolences." He tried to lighten up the mood. "I'm sure your sister was as pretty as you are."

"No. No," Emyli replied almost immediately. "I'm nothing. Plain and dull. But Kate? She was beautiful." Dale watched Emyli smile generously as she describe her sister. "She's tall, way taller than me even though I was older. She was the brightest in her class. A baseball player with a batting average of .350—and that's almost always against tough teams to beat…."

Emyli stopped when she saw Dale staring and smiling at her.

"And she's lucky to have a sister like you," Dale said.

Emyli's stoic expression returned. "She died for me," she whispered. "I promised that I'd always protect her. But in the end she died saving me." It was Dale's turn to lose his smile. "I'm sorry," he said.

"I couldn't feel anything. For Kate. For our father…" she said. "I couldn't even cry." She nodded. "I wanted to die as well."

Emyli turned away from Dale and looked across the field. She saw Daryl went out of his tent.

"Daryl told me I should live," she recounted, "because I saved him."

Dale stepped closer to her looking at her face. Then he looked at Daryl's direction; faraway from them.

"Daryl," he repeated and nodded as if understanding. Dale walked to the folding chair and sat on it. He put his arm on its side and his chin to his palm. "I thought you only had two expressions."

"Two expressions?"

"One blank and the smiling one," Dale explained. "The first one, you always put in front of people—to shield yourself. The second one, you very rarely show. And its truest form is reserved only for your sister."

"So what about them?" Emyli asked not quite understanding.

"Just now…" Dale uttered slowly, "I saw a different one—the third one."

"I don't understand," she said shaking her head.

Dale didn't answer for a while; he was just looking at Emyli as if trying to choose the right words to describe what he saw.

"It's a cross between a blank expression and a smile," he explained. "But your eyes were not vacant—there was gleam. And the smile…it's barely there but I felt it."

"So what is it?"

"Awe, perhaps? Wonder?" Dale suggested looking at the field. Emyli followed his eyes and found a Daryl-less ground.

Dale stood up, walked towards Emyli and took her hand.

"I agree with you that caring for other people makes you susceptible to pain," he said. "But it also gives you more reason to fight and live. You are not only living for yourself anymore. You must live for Kate as well—and for her dreams." Then Dale added, almost as a whisper. "And also for the people who bring that twinkle to your eyes. They are worth being nosy for."

Emyli smiled, and nodded. She felt she found a father she never had.

* * *

**Next chapter: **Daryl dances….

* * *

**Writer's Note**

Hi guys :)

This Chapter is more of getting some hints and cues about Emyli's (and a bit of Daryl's) thoughts and feelings than anything else.

I intend to write more zombie-action on the coming chapters-and of course, more Daryl.

Please let me know how I'm doing so far.

**PS: About Kate's batting average**

Please let me know if .350 is too high or "too average" for her.

I tried to research about it but let me know if the batting average I gave her is realistic.

Kate was 19. She's supposed to have been playing since highschool.

I wanted to her to have an above normal batting average for a college student.

Thanks in advance!

EDITED


	5. Chapter 5 - Nebraska

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Daryl and Emyli returned to the farm. Glenn revealed that the barn was full of walkers. Daryl and Emyli were about to go out and look for Sophia but Carol pleaded Daryl not to go. Dale and Emyli talked about the group and Emyli's newly discovered facial expression reserved for Daryl.

* * *

Chapter 5: **NEBRASKA**

* * *

Emyli was pretending to read Dale's book at the porch. Patricia, Beth and Carl were also there engrossed in a game of chess while Glenn and Maggie were sitting cozy on the steps. In between each paragraph, Emyli would glance up to look far ahead; she was waiting for Dale's return. Earlier, he told her of his plan to hide the guns so Shane could not find and use them. She then shared with him a path that led to a swamp. It had been at least an hour since then and he was not back yet.

Emyli's growing concern was impeded by Daryl and Carol approaching the group. She was unable to return to her pretentious reading as she observed a change of air between the two. Carol had a subtle smile playing at the end of her lips while Daryl was focused on maintaining his scowl perhaps to mask his self-satisfaction. Emyli thought they had somehow reconciled; her stare lingered as it tried to find clues on how it happened. She was almost sure that Daryl was the one who initiated it. She wanted to meet Daryl's eyes to make sure but it seemed like he was also trying to look for someone. When Daryl's eyes met hers, their stares locked at each other. Daryl nodded his head a bit in acknowledgement. Emyli responded with her blank expression.

Emyli was snapped out of it by Andrea's voice. She and T-Dog were looking for Rick as they should have been out searching for Sophia a couple of hours ago.

"Yeah ya were!" Daryl snarled, now with a real scowl. "Damn it, isn't anybody takin' this seriously? We got us a damn trail!"

Then Emyli finally stood up when he saw Shane running up to them—with the bag of guns.

"Oh here we go!" Daryl said exasperated.

Emyli put the book down and went out of the porch to confront Shane.

"What's all this?"

"You with me, man?" Shane asked Daryl handing him a gun; he accepted it and Shane went on to distribute guns to others.

"Shane, where's Dale?" Emyli asked firmly.

"He's on his way," Shane replied noncommittally.

Emyli ran to see to Dale. From afar, she saw Rick, Hershel and Jimmy with two geeks being walked with poles. She shook her head and ran faster. Emyli saw Dale walking slowly back towards the camp.

"What happened?" she asked.

Dale just looked at her with a tired face and she understood.

"They got guns now," Emyli told him. "With Shane leading them they'll slaughter the barn." Then she added, "Rick, Hershel and Jimmy have two walkers—I think they'll be putting them inside." Dale is horrified and Emyli agreed. "Yeah, I think this is going to be messy."

Dale and Emyli went on to the barn's direction. They could hear Shane shouting, egging the group to take action. Rick was trying to calm him down but could do much as he was handling one walker. When they finally were able to make it closer, Emyli let out a deep breath and bit her lip.

"It's them," she whispered to Dale.

"Who?" Dale asked, confused.

Emyli pointed the two walkers. "Patrick and Abby."

"You know them?"

"Abby's my cousin," she explained. "Patrick was one of the caretakers in my aunt's dairy.

Three gunshots from Shane; he shot the walker at the end of Hershel's snare pole, Abby.

"Oh my God," Dale stepped forward but Emyli stopped him. "No," she said.

"That's three rounds in the chest!" Shane declared. "Could someone who's alive, could they just take that!? Why is it still coming!?"

Two more shots.

"That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming!?" And then three more shots; the walker just kept on groaning with arms extended forward trying to grab.

"Shane, enough!" Rick shouted.

"Yeah, you're right man." Shane walks closer to the walker. "That is enough."

Emyli pulled one of her black hunting knife free and ran towards Shane, keeping him from getting to Abby.

"She's my cousin," she silently told everyone. Shane lowered his gun when Emyli looked at him and showed him her long knife. Shane was prepared to grab it from her but then Emyli turned around and aimed the knife at the walker. "He's right," she whispered to Hershel, "they're not sick…nor alive." She stepped closer and the walker violently reacted: reaching and clawing, and snarling.

Emyli drove the knife deep to her cousin's skull. Then she pulled it and the walker finally dropped to the ground. Everyone was silent afterwards. Emyli looked at Shane and he nodded at her in approval. He then started his tirade about wasting time looking for a dead girl and about staying in a place near a barn full of walkers.

Nobody was able to stop him open the barn, not even Rick. And what happened afterwards passed in front of Emyli's eyes like a silent movie. She went back to Dale's side as the people with guns stepped forward to kill each and every walker that came out of the shed: Shane, Daryl, T-Dog, Andrea—even Glenn joined in. She watched the dead people dropped to the ground as their brains were shot out of their heads. But what was more interesting to watch, for Emyli, were the faces of the _living_ people: both those of the shooters and the by-standers.

And just when they thought the last walker had been shot, another came out of the barn. It was a small girl with short, golden, wavy hair. Emyli didn't need to have seen Sophia to know it was her because just by a quick feel of everyone's reaction when the little walker girl came out….

It was Rick who ended it. Even Shane was dumbstruck. Carol wept and tried to run towards the girl but Daryl caught her in his arms and stopped her. Rick stepped forward, like a man who finally had seen the light, a changed man with hardened look on his face, he aimed the gun at Sophia's forehead and shot.

When Carol ran away crying, Emyli followed her to the RV. Carol went inside and put her head on the table and wailed. Emyli didn't know what to do as she never had the chance to comfort someone crying. It was prohibited in their house that she and Kate discovered a way to weep without shedding tears and with a straight face. Emyli just leaned on the counter and stared at Carol.

They were like that for a long while. Eventually Carol raised her head and looked at Emyli. Emyli handed her a glass of water. She accepted it and took a sip. She looked Emyli from head to toe then looked away. Emyli knew she appreciated the company…and the silence that went with it.

A tap on the RV door: "The're ready," Daryl told them.

Emyli stood straight but Carol didn't budge.

"What?" Daryl snarled at Carol.

"That's not my little girl," she murmured. "That's…that's something else."

"Wha-?!" Daryl tried to control his rage and turned to Emyli instead who returned to leaning on the counter. "How 'bout you? We buried ya'r cousin as well."

Emyli looked down and whispered, "I'll stay here with Carol."

Daryl's eyes narrowed as he looked at them with disgust. "Suit yar'selves!" He banged the door closed.

Emyli and Carol looked at each other, not knowing what to say so they just remained quiet.

* * *

When Emyli saw the group dispersed from the burial and went on to collect the walkers' bodies, she wanted to help.

"I'll just see what I can do to help," Emyli told Carol. Carol didn't even look at her so she went on. On her way, Daryl walked passed her obviously still pissed as he intentionally avoided her eyes and spitted when he was a few steps behind her. Emyli brushed it off and approached T-Dog and Andrea. She silently helped them with bringing the bodies to the back of the truck and driving them piling them on a certain spot for burning later.

A little later, news was delivered by Glenn: Beth collapsed and in some kind of catatonic state. They rushed to the house to see her condition. They tried to look for Hershel but no one had seen him. Rick wanted to know where Hershel was so they talked separately with Maggie. Emyli and Carl were left inside the room with Beth still in shock.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Carl asked.

Emyli looked at Carl staring blankly at Beth. She knew that look; it's the same face she had been wearing every day since her father started giving her _the rod._ She knew the kid was starting to turn numb. Emyli sat on the floor with crossed legs, her back leaning on Beth's bed. She tapped the spot in front of her signalling Carl to join her. Carl did; he also sat crossed leg in front of Emyli.

"You thought I was Beth's age," she started slowly, "but I'm already twenty-three. Another adult will answer you that she's gonna be fine for sure." She paused and sighed, "but me…I…I really don't know."

Carl nodded, still without any trace of emotion.

"Are you upset with what happened?" Emyli asked him. Carl just shrugged.

"Carl…what's the happiest moment that you can remember?" Emyli suddenly asked. "Before all of these happened, when did you feel happiest?"

It took a while for Carl to process Emyli's unexpected question. He pulled his eyebrows together, thinking hard. "I think...I think it was when our class won a final baseball match with another class. I was the batter." Emyli had to smile. "My dad…he was able to watch me with mom." Carl also smiled as he remembered.

"Baseball, huh?" Emyli said, "like my sister." She then returned her serious tone. "Carl, I know it's an ugly world we have right now and there will be a lot of…you know, curveballs." Both of them smiled. "Just yesterday, I wanted to die…. It's so easy to pull away and lock ourselves in, shield ourselves from pain and from other people." She looked straight at Carl, "there's bliss in numbness. That's what I thought. But then I realized that emotions are what make us human, what make us different from them—from those walkers." Carl was listening intently, hanging on to her every word. "They attack and kill without a thought, mindless. But that's how they're supposed to be because they're dead. But for a living person…to be numb, to not mind what's happening, to just go on as if something did not happen—I realized it's scarier."

Carl nodded slowly and looked down. Tears started to stream down his cheeks.

"Sophia's dead and Beth is not doing well," Emyli continued, " things like these will happen again and when you can't seem to feel anything, remember the happy moments you had before and you'll know the difference. It's how you know you still have your heart." Carl raised his head and looked at Emyli pointing at his chest. "Until this morning, I thought I had long lost mine. Don't lose yours, Carl."

When Carl saw a tear on Emyli's face, he was unable to stop himself from hugging her and crying on her shoulder. And Emyli hugged him back.

* * *

Maggie, Jimmy and Patricia attended to Beth as Carl sat on a chair nearby. Lori was pacing back and forth it's not hard to feel her uneasiness. Later, Emyli heard her asking Andrea to look after Carl, and then she went out.

Night fell and Emyli figured Rick and Glenn went out to look for Hershel in town. Shane brought Carol earlier to the house; she then helped prepared dinner. The group sat in front of the table. Despite of the inviting smell, Emyli did not feel like eating so she excused herself and went out to the field.

Emyli reached the end of the camp but she purposely avoided Daryl's tent. She sat on what used to be a wall near a demolished brick pillar. She sighed as she looked at a sky full of stars. Then she looked down and played the grass with her feet. She didn't know what she was doing out there; she guessed she just wanted to think. A few minutes later she felt footsteps approaching her. She looked behind and saw Daryl.

"You said ya'll drink this with me," he handed her the bottle of Southern Comfort. It was already open and emptied by a quarter. Daryl sat beside her, at least a foot away. Emyli looked at him looking far ahead and she said, "Are you still upset about Carol?"

"None of ya'r business," Daryl barked. He motioned for Emyli to hand him the booze. She looked at the bottle then put the opening on her mouth, drank, then gave it to Daryl. The look on his face told her he didn't really expect her to drink. Daryl took the Comfort and drank as well.

"She just lost her daughter," Emyli continued. She returned to playing the grass with her feet. "Let her breathe and she'll come around."

"Pft! Why are we even talkin' 'bout her?"

"Because you care for her," Emyli said lightly, she herself was surprised with her playful tone.

"No, I don't," Daryl countered glaring at her.

Emyli could not stop herself from smiling. "You're like my dog…."

Daryl, with his hand holding the bottle, pointed Emyli and said: "Say that again and I'll fire an arrow to ya'r…." He was unable to continue.

Emyli took the bottle from him. "To my ass?" she suggested then drank some booze. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand then handed the bottle back to Daryl who snatched it from her. Daryl looked away, as if embarrassed then took a huge swig of Comfort.

They were silent for a while. Emyli went for the grass with her hand now. Pulling them but not really uprooting, twirling the greens between her fingers. A couple of minutes later, Emyli decided to stop and let Daryl know what's on her mind.

"I'm glad you found her," Emyli said firmly, her serious tone back. Daryl looked at her—not with a scowl this time—just a look that says he's listening. "She may not be in the state you want her to be…but she was found," Emyli nodded to Daryl. "She was found and that's better than not knowing."

"'Cause it's not knowin' that hurts more, I know," Daryl agreed and took another huge swig before handing the bottle to Emyli.

Emyli was perceptive. "That time, when you fell from the ravine," she recalled, "You were talking and you called someone named Merle. Is he your brother?"

Daryl had a surprised look on his face. But he quickly recovered. "Older brother," he said. "He was left on a rooftop with his hand cuffed. When we returned for him he ain't there anymore. Bastard cut his fuckin' hand."

Emyli could not think of any response to that so she just drank from the bottle. She felt miserable about saying not knowing was worse than finding someone dead. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Hey, why the long face," Daryl asked for the bottle back with his hand, "He's my brother an' that alone means he's still alive out there, somewhere." Daryl was about to drink but he saw Emyli still looking down. "Don't 'ya feel sad thinkin' ya'r luckier than me coz ya'r not. Buryin' what's left of ya'r sister ain't nowhere easier."

Emyli nodded. "To Sophia, Kate and Merle, then?" she said looking at the booze.

"Hell, ya," Daryl brought the bottle's mouth to his and gulped. He handed it to Emyli afterwards who took a generous swig.

They are silent again; both did not know how to carry on with their conversation. They exchanged looks not really catching each other's eyes. Finally it was Daryl this time who broke the silence. What happened next was very surreal and definitely unexpected.

Daryl stood up in front of Emyli not looking at her. "Long time ago, whenever my old man comes home from his drinkin' and gamblin' with a heavy pocket, we celebrate," he said while rubbing the back of his neck.

Emyli was surprised with Daryl's actions; she was not sure if it's an effect of the alcohol. Daryl did not strike her as someone who loses himself because of booze. But this was very un-Daryl like and could not relate it to anything else. Emyli looked at him with a worried expression. She noticed that his face was flushed already. That was when Emyli suspected that he drank something else earlier other than the Southern Comfort.

"Tha's a very rare feat but when it happens, he goes home with food," Daryl, it seemed now, was hesitating if he should continue. He was rubbing his palm with the other and fidgeted on his place. But his voice was till rough and edgy. "And he dances with my 'ma."

Emyli bit her lip, not sure what to expect next. She could tell Daryl was embarrassed why he started this so she decided to go along. Emyli put the bottle down and stood up as well and looked at him. "Okay," she said and Daryl met her eyes. "Show me the dance, then."

Daryl tried to regain his composure. He even scowled as he stepped back from Emyli.

Daryl cleared his throat. "Well a bow always precedes a dance." He put one arm in front of his stomach and hunched his back. When he stood straight again, he narrowed his eyes on Emyli. She took the cue and did a girlier bow putting her right foot behind the other and slightly bending her knee. Then she looked at Daryl expectantly. "Now, we uhm…do this." He turned around twice to his right and snapped his fingers to the same direction. Then he did the same going left, returning to the spot in front of Emyli. It was an awkward sight and Emyli bursted into soft, delightful laughter.

"Wha'!?" Daryl snapped at her pointing a finger down at her forehead. "Ain't seen a dance before, huh?"

Emyli shook her head still laughing. It was a first in so many years she thought she had forgotten how. It's a wonderful feeling to just laugh openly. She then looked up at Daryl as she tried to put a serious face and told him, "I think it's a good one." And she moved to replicate Daryl's steps. She moved more gracefully and more natural than him. Daryl nodded; he seemed satisfied.

"Now give me ya'r right hand." Reluctantly, Emyli gave it to Daryl and he held it as if they were arm-wrestling. Daryl pushed and moved them to a circular motion and when they have exchanged places, Daryl asked for her other hand and they moved back, hopping to their original spot. Emyli caught herself giggling quietly as they repeated this twice. She looked at Daryl: He was also smiling. She wondered if this good feeling was real—if all of this was real. Emyli ended up wishing that it was.

They stopped and Daryl looked at her. "Now give me both of ya'r hands." Emyli presented them to Daryl, palms down. He looked at her hands then wiped his on the sides of his pants before taking them. Then using one arm holding Emyli's hand, he turned her around. She ended up with her back on Daryl with her arms crossed in front of her; her hands still held by him. After a second, Daryl turned Emyli back to their original position. "An' another," he said and they repeated the step. When they stood face-to-face again, Daryl said, "An' after that, my old man will pass out." He let go of Emyli's hands and returned to his seat holding and drinking from the bottle.

Emyli was left standing not sure how to react.

"Well…" she muttered turning to him who's now busy with the booze, "that was…that was fun." She sat beside him.

"Figured a celebration ain't complete without a dance," he said matter-of-factly and then he handed her the bottle. "Merle thought it was silly."

"It is," Emyli responded immediately, Daryl glared at her so she also quickly added, "but I liked it." She drank some Comfort.

They were silent again. Emyli knew she should be worried about Daryl who seemed drunk already. But she couldn't help enjoying the company of his un-sober version. Whatever it was, it was contagious and Emyli couldn't help feeling light-hearted—something she had never felt in years. It was like both of them were different people from who they were just hours earlier—and the feeling was refreshing. She knew the real Daryl and Emyli will be back tomorrow so she didn't want to let go of this moment just yet.

As she tried to savor the good feeling, Emyli didn't notice she was staring blankly ahead for several minutes already and that Daryl had been staring at her.

"Are you still thinking about it?" he growled at her, snatching the bottle from Emyli.

"About what?"

"Dyin'."

It took a while for Emyli to process what Daryl meant but when she finally did, she said: "No." But she also took it back. "Well, yes." Daryl narrowed his eyes on her. Emyli tried to explain. "You can't help it when death and the dead surround us." Emyli couldn't stand the exasperated look on Daryl's face so she tried to elaborate. "But if you're asking me if I still would like to die, I say no." Then she added slowly. "Because a hot-headed guy told me last night that I should live." Daryl looked away rubbing his neck. "And also…."

"An' what?" Daryl asked her now with a gentler tone.

"Dale said now that Kate is dead, I have to live for the both us," Emyli whispered. "He said I have to live for Kate's dreams." She looked at Daryl who was playing with the bottle, tapping it on the grass. Then she recalled with a smile: "She told me before that she wants to visit the Baseball Museum in Nebraska. She's a fan of Sam Crawford."

"Ya'r sister's dreams, huh?" Daryl repeated mockingly then he emptied the bottle of Comfort in one gulp. "How 'bout you? What was your dream before all of this shit happened?"

Emyli's smile faded and what replaced it was a blank expression, turning slowly into confusion and subtle anxiety. Daryl saw that and sneered. "I was right. Silly girl ain't have a dream of her own." Emyli ignored him and tried to think hard but could not find any answer.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the thud of Daryl passing out, falling on the ground.

* * *

**Next chapter: **An unexpected girl-bonding session….

* * *

**Writer's Notes:**

Oh my, I know what happened during their drinking session is out of character for both Daryl and Emyli.

But I actually wanted to explore and I wanted to know how it will turn out if Daryl gets tipsy and how will stoic Emyli react to it.

I think it was a surreal scene: unbelievable but delightful at the same time.

Let me know what you think :)


	6. Chapter 6 - Triggerfinger

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Shane led the group in killing the walkers in the barn. Daryl was angered by Carol not wanting to attend Sophia's burial. Beth was in state of shock, Hershel was nowhere to be found and Rick and Glenn followed him to town. Emyli talked to Carl about numbness. Daryl and Emyli had a little drinking session that led to Daryl having a carefree dance with her and passing out afterwards.

* * *

Chapter 6:** TRIGGERFINGER**

* * *

It was a familiar feeling for Emyli: She was walking a half-conscious Daryl with his arms on her shoulders. She was small and he was heavy and with no walkers chasing them, she could clearly feel the strain on her shoulders and knees. Halfway to his tent, they were sighted by a running Carol. There was a confused look on her face but she immediately went to Daryl's other side and she took his other arm to her shoulder. Together with Carol now, Emyli walked Daryl to his tent.

"He was drinking?" Carol asked, perplexed as they took another step.

"We were," Emyli answered coolly. Carol looked at Emyli, not sure if she had heard right. "But I think he has been drinking even before he approached me."

Carol did not respond. They reached the tent and they somehow were able to make Daryl step inside. They made him lie down on his bunk. And true enough, they found two empty bottles of hard liquor on the floor. Daryl grumbled; close-eyed, twitching as the two women looked at him.

"Lori's missing," Carol finally said, remembering why she went out looking for Daryl.

Emyli looked at Carol recalling Lori's behaviour earlier. "I think she went out to follow Rick." She moved towards the opening. Before stepping out, she said, "Can you look after him?" she nodded to Daryl. "I'll just see what I can do to help."

"Well, ahm…yeah. Sure," Carol fumbled with her response, taken aback by the authority in Emyli's voice.

"Thank you." Emyli ran to the camp leaving Carol and Daryl alone.

* * *

Daryl remained half-conscious when Carol had him drink water from his canteen. He remained that way when she removed his shoes; but he became _fully_ conscious when he felt her unbuttoning his shirt.

"Hey…hey," he murmured as he tried to pull himself up to a sitting position. Carol knew better so she pulled her arms away from him. Daryl put his wrist on one of his eyes and rubbed it. He blinked and then widely opened his eyes as if testing them. Then he shook his head.

"Saw you drink booze at the CDC but I don't remember you getting a hang-over," Carol remarked then she handed a wet towel to Daryl. "Must be fatigue catching up on you."

"Ain't tha' a bitch," Daryl spitted and wiped his face with the towel.

For a while, Carol just observed him. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like shit," Daryl replied, his eyes wandering around. "Where's the girl?"

"We can't find Lori and the others aren't back yet either," she answered, "Emyli went to the camp to tell them she thinks Lori followed Rick and Glenn."

"Yeah, most prob'ly," Daryl said casually as he rubbed and massaged his neck, "dumb bitch asked me to go. I told her I'm done being an errand boy."

Carol stared at him, unbelieving. "And you didn't say anything?" Daryl sighed exasperatedly.

"Don't do this, please," she pleaded. Carol struggled as she decided if she should tell him what she was thinking. "You've earned your place," she said tenderly, "but you're…pulling away, pushing people." Daryl tried to ignore her by focusing on putting his shoes back on. "A-and drinking booze with a young girl," Carol said with a scared smile, "I mean, you could have asked me instead."

Daryl sneered and shook his head.

"And it may not be good if you're always seen together," Carol continued, more serious now. Daryl looked at her sharply, wondering how the fucking hell it became about the silly, little girl. Because if this was where he thought it was heading…he could feel his anger stirring. "I know she saved your life but people may get the wrong idea—"

"If you spent half your time mindin' your daughter's business instead of stickin' your nose in everybody else's she'd still be alive!" This silenced Carol. Daryl tried to catch his breath. "An' tha' girl? She's been legal for five years," he scoffed at her. "But you," he looked her from head to toe, "no husband, no daughter. You don' know what to do with yourself!"

Carol endured all that and did not budge. This seemed to anger Daryl more. "Jus' get the hell outta here!" he roared.

With silent tears on her face, Carol stepped out of the tent. Daryl was left alone with a heavy head. He was just so angry at her. Too angry he started worrying that the silly girl may be right: that he cared for Carol. Daryl wiped his face again with the towel and dismissed the thought.

* * *

It's been almost two hours since Shane followed Lori. Emyli and Carl were at the living room while the others were out at the porch, pacing back and forth waiting for anyone's return. Earlier, Emyli checked her bag and went for her candy bars. She ate one to mask the alcohol's scent in her breath. Now she's sitting on the sofa beside Carl. She looked at him as he fidgeted on his seat. When Carl saw her staring, he asked her, "I'm scared. Is _this_ good?"

"It's normal," Emyli answered, "and normal's good."

"And I have my heart," Carl whispered, trying to smile as he touched his left chest with his palm.

Emyli nodded. "And you guard it," she said firmly. "Don't wear your heart on your sleeve."

Carl looked at Emyli with a question mark on his face.

"I know I told you earlier to not let yourself get numb," Emyli explained, "let your heart feel." Emyli points at her temple. "But leave the thinking to your head. There should be a balance. Find your center." Emyli paused. "You're scared but you hide it—because you want to control it and not it controlling you. Use fear to calm and guide people, not to create panic."

Carl nodded, and then he sat up straight and folded his arms in front of him. Both Carl and Emyli waited quietly for anyone's return.

It was perhaps fifteen minutes after when they heard a car from outside. Shane and Lori came out of the green Tucson. Everyone surrounded them to see if they're okay. Lori looked for Rick and it was then that Shane had to make her understand why he lied: because she needed to be taken care of, revealing to everyone that she's pregnant. They moved to the living room where Carl excitedly asked Lori questions about the baby. Emyli wanted to give them that moment so she stepped outside to the porch where she found Dale's book which she was pretending to read earlier. She was about to actually read the book when Andrea came out of the house.

"Can't sleep?" she asked her.

Emyli shook her head. "I just had Snickers," she answered with her blank expression, "I probably will still last for three hours. Or more."

Andrea smiled. "Good. I just checked Beth and Maggie's with her," she told Emyli. "Maggie refuses to sleep. She insists on watching Beth. Figured we keep her company. It will be like an all-girl slumber party."

Emyli shrugged. "Sure." She followed Andrea to Beth's room. They found Maggie putting a blanket on the side of the bed. She tried to smile when she saw them. "This should be comfortable, right?" Maggie asked. Andrea reappeared on Emyli's side. "Not complete without pillows," she gently threw them to the blanket. Maggie also took sodas from the ref and soon, they had drinks, two apples and a plateful of carrot sticks.

Beth was already sleeping. The three other girls settled themselves on the soft blanket with pillows on their laps. This was turning out to be a very eventful night for Emyli.

"I never thought I'll have another session of girl-bonding like this," Andrea announced, "not went I went to Law school. Definitely not when the world ended."

"So what should we talk about?" Maggie asked, not as excited as Andrea but at least she's relaxing a bit.

"I don't know," Andrea shrugged, chewing on a carrot stick. "Boys?" she suggested half joking, half meaning it.

"I'd like to hear a story about you and Beth," Emyli said.

"Yeah, yeah," Andrea agreed, "me too."

Maggie looked at them then smiled. She told a story about Beth finding her pills which ended up in a mud swimming. All three of them laughed, even Emyli, though softly.

"I also had a younger sister," Andrea shared. She related a sad story about Amy always calling her prior to her birthday. She always assured her she'll be there, but she never was because she was busy with college. The three of them fell silent after her story. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make us all blue," Andrea smiled, "how about you, Emyli? Dale told me you also had a sister."

"Yeah," Emyli answered, "a younger sister as well. Her name was Kate."

"Well, tell us something about her," Maggie encouraged her.

"Ahm…she's kind of like…the opposite of me," she told them. Andrea and Maggie were looking at her as if wanting to hear more. "Tall and pretty. Brown, wavy hair. She was very popular. You would guess she's part of the cheering squad—but no, she's a batter in her university's baseball team."

Emyli hugged her knees and continued. "I love her, of course," Andrea and Maggie nodded, "except when boys I like court her instead of me." The two other girls laughed at her joke.

"What were you doing before all of this happened?" Andrea asks curiously.

Emyli sighed. "I was a member of a local theatre group in Maine," she said.

"So you were an actress?" Maggie asked excitedly.

"I bet you went out with hot actors," Andrea teased.

"Oh no, no," Emyli answered shaking her head. "Nothing stellar like that. I dropped out of college on my second year. It's hard getting a spot with those theatre groups. I don't know if it was luck but a lady who designs costumes for Lakewood Theater had trigger finger. This prevented her to draw. I showed-up at the right moment and I was willing to draw for free," Emyli shrugged. "They liked my designs and eventually, they took me in. I design stages as well. Later, I also assisted in choreographing the fight scenes. The short courses I took in different fighting techniques actually came handy when the dead returned walking."

"That's interesting," Maggie uttered, amused.

"And I just realized…something pretty obvious," Andrea exclaimed. "All three of us are older sisters."

"Yeah," Maggie said playfully. "What now? You want us to found a big sister organization or somethin'?" she laughed at her own idea.

"Well, why not?" Andrea asked seriously.

"What for?" Maggie questioned, not sure if Andrea is joking or not. "So we can gather, have secret meetings…?" Andrea slowly nodded, smiling, "…and talk about…boys?" She and Andrea giggled.

"And play truth or dare," Emyli added innocently. The two other girls looked and stared at her for a moment then giggled again. "Or train each other!" Emyli tried to redeem herself. "I mean, Maggie can teach us how to ride a horse. And me…I-I'm good with guns—"

"Yeah honey," Andrea said putting an arm around her, "that…and the truth or dare." Emyli finally joined in and chuckled soundlessly.

"We should have a group name, then," Maggie declared. Andrea looked at her. "Now you're enthusiastic about this?"

Maggie shrugged. "If we're gonna do this, we gotta have a name."

"Okay," Andrea agreed, "let's see…how about…Badass Beauties?"

"Nah," Maggie was quick to wave a hand, "too predictable. How about…Midnight Cowgirls?" Andrea snorted and laughed. "That was cheesy!" she said. "Fine, I'll think of another one," Maggie said. "What do you think of…Sister, Get Your Gun."

Andrea is quick with her answer: "How about Glenn's Angels?"

Both of them laughed hard but they realized Beth was sleeping so they covered their mouths with their palms and giggled on their hands. And then they continued throwing ridiculous group names to each other, laughing in between. All the while, Emyli was thinking hard….

"How about May?" Emyli suggested with a serious face.

Andrea and Maggie suddenly stopped laughing and looked at Emyli.

"May? As in the month of May?" Andrea asked, unimpressed.

"No," Emyli answered. "May as in M, A, E." The two girls remained staring at her, not understanding. "Our names," she explained. "Maggie, Andrea, Emyli."

Andrea smiled, "now that's another cheesy name."

"No, I think it's good," Maggie argued, "is that it? Just…MAE?"

Emyli shook her head. "I'm thinking of MAE Flowers."

"Yeah, I like it," Maggie said smiling. She looked at Andrea for her approval. "It has our names…making the group exclusive." Andrea looked back at her with an unconvinced face. "And we can have flower codenames!"

Andrea gawked at Maggie. "You know, for a tomboy, you are girly." But she finally smiled. "Fine," she gave in, "it sounds feminine…it has our names...it does not sound like a group name at all so we can keep its secrecy." Andrea nodded. "And I actually like the fact that flowers have their own language; different flowers symbolize different characteristics and emotions."

"Now that's so girly, Andrea," Maggie teased her.

"Now for our codenames—"

"I thought you didn't want us to have one?" Maggie snapped playfully at her. "I didn't say that," she defended. "Fine," Maggie said, "you give us codenames since you seem to know things about the language of flowers."

Andrea paused to think; her forefinger was touching her chin. "Magnolia," she muttered, "symbolizes perseverance and love of nature. I think it suits your steely, cowgirl personality, Maggie"

"Okay," Maggie nods, "Magnolia it is, then."

"And for Emyli…" Andrea studied her. Emyli stared back. "Symbol of virtue and chastity. I think you're a Lily. Because you look innocent and pure."

"How about you?" Maggie asked Andrea.

"Me?" she said with a smile. "I'm a Dahlia. It's the flower of change," Andrea looked down, "I think it's perfect to describe what I have been going through since I lost Amy…."

"Don't worry," it was Emyli's turn to tap Andrea's shoulder, "we're here."

"Yeah, you have MAE now," Maggie agreed. Andrea had to smile.

"And we have Beth and Carl," Emyli added. The two other girls nodded in agreement.

Andrea raised her cup of soda. "To MAE Flowers."

"To Beth getting better soon," Maggie raised hers as well.

"To Rick, Glenn and Hershel's safe return," whispered Emyli as she raised her cup.

The three girls drank their soda and eventually fell asleep shoulder to shoulder after talking about boys and the apocalypse.

* * *

**Next chapter: **Emyli gets bitten….

* * *

**Writer's Notes:**

Hi guys!

I'm changing a lot of things here.

I have already outlined the chapters ahead and I can't wait to write and publish them.

Please look forward to it.

By the way, this chapter is kinda short compared to the others. To compensate, I will be publishing a special chapter in a couple of days.

I'm so excited for this! Please anticipate.

Thanks for reading. As usual, please leave me a review :)


	7. MAE Flowers Special 1 (Part 1)

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

MAE Flowers Special 1:** A Dare for Emyli**

* * *

Emyli couldn't exactly remember how she was given that dare. The three of them, Maggie, Andrea and Emyli, were talking about boys and sex last night. She could barely participate. They had talked about losing virginity: Andrea said she lost hers when she was sixteen—to her Geometry teacher.

"I bet he was good with _angles_," Maggie commented.

"That, and in scouting the _perimeter_," Andrea added.

Maggie said she was a late bloomer as she lost hers when she was eighteen. It was to the tallest football player of her school. He turned out to be a disappointment, though.

"Not very tall down there," Maggie said with soft disgust on her face. "In fact," she said in afterthought, "I don't know if I really lost it to him. I barely felt it."

"There, there," Andrea said tapping her back with an exaggerated gloomy look on her face.

Emyli was waiting for her turn, not really sure how to contribute to the topic. When Maggie and Andrea finally stared expectantly at her, she just blurted:

"Thirteen."

The two others girls gasped in disbelief then giggled when they recovered.

"So…" Andrea started trying to look serious, "who was the bird who caught the early whore?"

Maggie laughed hard.

It took a while for Emyli to answer. "My father. I was abused."

"Oh my God," Maggie panted catching her mouth with her palm.

"You're kidding, right?" Andrea said gravely.

The question lingered again. Emyli blinked. "Of course," she said and it was only then that Maggie and Andrea released the breath they held. Emyli continued: "I don't think I have ever done it…_properly_ yet."

"Okay, so MAE Flowers' first mission is to get Emyli laid," Andrea announced. Maggie nodded, "so who do you wanna do it with?"

"What—huh?"

"Get you laid," Andrea repeated then she raised her fist and counted with her fingers. "Rick's with Lori, Jimmy's with Beth, Dale is too old, Carl is too young…and that leaves us with Glenn, T-Dog, Daryl and Shane. Take your pick."

"Andrea, you know who Emyli's boyrfriend is," Maggie said with a smirk.

"Boyfriend?" Emyli asked, confused.

"Daryl," Maggie replied, "you saved his life, he brought you back here when you ran away." Maggie winked. "You wanna sleep with a guy with whom you a have a connection like that."

Emyli thought about it but she had to shake her head. "I don't know. He reminds me so much of my dog…."

Maggie and Andrea looked at each other meaningfully. Andrea's "announcement" earlier was meant as a joke. They were surprised that the innocent girl took it seriously and was not revolted by the idea of having sex.

"Well, have you seen him naked?" Maggie asked curiously in a whisper.

"Twice," Emyli replied almost instantly in an unassuming manner. This prompted the two other girls to gawk at her, impressed—and to giggle again. "I bandaged his wound and I helped him towel his back. Both times without a shirt."

"How about without pants?" Andrea boldly asked.

"No," Emyli answered firmly. Then she added slowly. "Never without pants."

"What do you think is he wearing underneath?" Andrea mocked.

"Yeah, briefs? Boxers?" Maggie cajoled.

"Hmm…I don't know," Emyli said thinking hard.

"And what's the color?" Andrea pretended to ponder on it. "White? Black?"

"I don't even know if he's wearing anything," Emyli blurted.

Maggie and Andrea produced a lingering "oh" sound with matching big, round eyes.

"How did you know it's a possibility?" Andrea playfully scrutinized.

"I bet they've been dry humping," Maggie suggested.

"He'd snap a neck before someone can pat him on the back," Emyli tried to reason.

"Not yours, though," Andrea said slowly…like there's a plan being brewed in her head. "You saved his life."

"How about we give little Lily a _dare_?" Maggie declared. She looked at Emyli, "I dare you to bring us his undies."

"Exactly what I'm thinking," Andrea applauded. "We dare you to bring us his dirty, little, knickers."

Emyli stared at them in disbelief. "I-I don't know," she stammered. "What's in it for me?"

"Well…"Andrea considered. "Get his undies and you might get the chance of getting laid. Last time I checked, when you remove _that_ article of clothing, sex gets more appealing," she winked.

"I don't want to sleep with him," Emyli declared, "and I believe the feeling is mutual."

"Honey it's the end of the world," Andrea pleaded. "No one can afford to be choosy. You wanna get laid? Go ask for it. I doubt a guy would say no."

Emyli still looked doubtful.

"It's human nature," Andrea continued. "If we want to continue living, then it is the thing that we must continue doing. Trust me, honey, you'll feel more alive." She nudged Emyli, "go get yourself some fun."

Maggie nodded in agreement but Emyli just stared at them blankly. Andrea looked sharply at Maggie egging her to take the turn and convince Emyli.

"A-and…" Maggie stuttered, "ahm…I think Daryl will look less like your dog once you see his undies…."

Emyli's face suddenly lit up. "'Cause dogs don't wear briefs or boxers?"

"Well, unless Daryl is on commando," Andrea teased and she and Maggie giggled while Emyli smiled.

"Fine, I'll do it then," Emyli said. "I mean…not the sleeping part but at least the undies. I…I think it might be fun…."

Maggie and Andrea high-fived as Emyli started to think how in the world she could seize Daryl Dixon's underpants.

* * *

**PART 2:** Emyli gets some fun...


	8. MAE Flowers Special 1 (Part 2)

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Part 1: **Emyli was given a dare to take Daryl's underpants.

* * *

MAE Flowers Special 1:** A Dare for Emyli (Part 2)**

* * *

Emyli's first strategy was to wait. She thought Daryl would not stay in his tent all day; her plan was to sneak inside once he's away. She sat and stayed on the remains of a former wall a few meters from Daryl's tent; she hid herself behind the demolished brick pillar. She let her long, black hair veil the sides of her face as she read _The Case of the Missing Man_ while she waited. She didn't need to see Daryl leave; his footsteps were light but Emyli's ears could detect them.

Daryl went out of his tent and settled a few feet away to sharpen his knives. Then he went on and made some arrows. Emyli was exceptionally patient but she didn't have the whole day for this dare: she only had until sunset. Daryl didn't leave his spot; Emyli was halfway through the book already when he cooked one of his squirrels for brunch. This is not working, Emyli thought to herself. She closed the book and stood up. She walked away from Daryl's tent noiselessly and retraced the path back to the camp. It's time for Plan B.

"Carol!" she called out. The older lady who was carrying a basket full of laundry looked behind but did not stop walking. Emyli ran to catch up. "Playing around?" Carol asked with an unconcerned tone in her voice; but what Emyli sensed was dislike, not apathy. "No," she answered, "Are we doing laundry today? I'd like to help."

"That's new," said an unimpressed Carol as the two of them continued to walk toward the water pump. "Do you know how to do it?"

Emyli blurted, "no. But how difficult can it be?" She paused to construct her next statement. "The guys. Do they also ask you to wash their clothes?" Carol's narrowed eyes looked her from head to toe. "Are you asking about Daryl's?" she asked sharply, as if she had read Emyli's mind. "The answer is no." Carol looked away. Emyli bit her lip; Plan B's a fail as well. "Are you still gonna help me?" Emyli answered without thinking: "Hmm..yeah. Of course."

She accompanied Carol to the spot and helped her separate the clothes. Emyli, then pumped water. Carol must have noticed that Emyli's mind was completely someplace else and not on the task. "I think you've helped enough," she said.

"Sorry," Emyli muttered and went back to the camp again trying to think of her next move.

The people on camp were preparing for lunch. Andrea was smiling at her sheepishly; Emyli avoided her eyes and tried to survey the perimeter. She needed to know what her resources were and if she would need to improvise. She assumed Lori would be the most logical choice for her to ask advice from but the thought of her asking Lori to help her find a way to steal Daryl's undies seemed ridiculous. And she hated being laughed at—because it's an indication that she's weak and she definitely was not. So now, the question was…she needed an advice, an inspiration—but who would _not _laugh at her?

"Something the matter?"

It's Dale.

"It does not show on your face but you're definitely acting peculiar," Dale said a little worried. Emyli sighed and walked past Dale. He followed her inside the RV. When Emyli was sure no one would hear them, she told Dale about a dare Andrea and Maggie gave her. How they wanted to have a little fun.

"Well, it's good that you are trying to amuse yourselves," Dale commented, smiling. "Try to find some normalcy in this world…we can all do with some fun.

"So what's the dare, then?"

"They dared me to steal Daryl's underwear," Emyli answered unblinking.

Dale lost his smile. "I know," Emyli said, "it's…it's a weird dare…."

"No, no," Dale shook his head. "Trust me it's not weird at all…but from Daryl Dixon?"

"I'm not afraid," she declared. "And I thought it would be fun sneaking up on_ him_. Wouldn't be half the fun if it was…Glenn, for example."

Dale nodded. "But it seems like you're not anywhere near to completing your task."

Emyli looked down. "Not anywhere near," she admitted. "He's not leaving his tent. And Carol does not have it."

Dale let out a chuckle.

"Don't laugh," Emyli said. Dale tried to keep a straight face. "Okay…here's what I think. Daryl is an unconventional guy—that's why you need an unconventional approach. Why don't you go and ask it from him directly?"

* * *

Emyli walked toward Daryl's tent. Dale's advice meant that she would be playing this to her strengths—because if Emyli was really good at something, it's with being blunt. She reached the tent but to her surprise, it's empty. She looked around and listened. Her radar read: no hot-headed hunter in the perimeter. So Plan A was good after all. Emyli stepped inside Daryl's tent.

There's not much inside: Daryl's bunk, used towels, unfinished bolts, drugs. When her eyes caught a small pile of clothes, Emyli's heart began to pound. She thought she's more nervous in finding his undies than him catching her red-handed. She rummaged through the pile greeting Daryl's jacket, shirts, pieces of cloths—but no briefs or boxers. Emyli tried to put the clothes back but she only managed haphazardly….

"Thought you were up to somethin'."

Emyli was still kneeling in front of the stack of Daryl's wardrobe. She slowly turned around with no doubt who she's going to see.

"Hidin' behind the ruins, sneakin' inside my tent and ransacking my things…" Daryl sneered, "whatta ya' up to?"

The girl stood up and went out of the tent to face Daryl. Emyli looked straight at him and said: "I'm looking for your underwear."

Daryl's face contorted to a confused and angered look. "What?"

"Your underwear," she repeated not batting an eyelid, "we wanted to have fun so Maggie and Andrea gave me this dare…."

Daryl stepped back and looked away from the girl to control his rising fury.

"Ya' know for someone perceptive," he told her exasperatedly, "you are fucking naïve!" He pointed to the camp's direction. "Them bitches are makin' fun o' you!"

Emyli just let Daryl vent, afterwards, she said, "well, are you going to give them to me?"

Daryl crossed his arm in front of him and snickered unbelieving to the girl. "Wouldn't give 'em to you if you give me yours."

"Would you give it to me for booze, then?" Emyli pressed.

Daryl shrugged.

"I should have taken another Comfort from the dairy…" she muttered.

The hunter took a step forward. "Hey, what are ya' thinkin' now?" he demanded.

Emyli thought that if tactlessness would not work, her other strength would be: "Snares," she answered him. "How I can make one to trap you with."

"Pft!" Daryl spitted. "No snare can lure me."

Emyli nodded, "we'll see." She turned around to walk away.

"He-hey!" he made long strides to block her way. "Don't fuckin' tell me you're gonna run away again just for a stupid dare!?"

"It's because you won't hand it over to me," Emyli said coolly.

"Yeah? It's because it's a stupid dare, that's what is!" Daryl screamed and pointed at her.

"So will you give it to me if it's not for a dare?" Emyli asked curiously.

"What!?" Daryl barked.

"I'm just asking for it—not for the dare this time," she said, "I'll wash them for you." She pointed at Daryl's crotch. "Take it off and give it to me." She showed him her palm.

Daryl put his hands on his waist and thought hard, keeping his anger at bay; he wanted to handle this calmly as there's no point arguing with a naïve girl.

"Ya' really wanna have some fun, huh?" he said with a smirk.

"Yes."

"Well I don' see ya' laughin' doin' this stupid dare," Daryl remarked, "I'll show ya' what's really fun."

Emyli looked at him expectantly, willing to consider his offer.

"Ran off and get ya'r things then get back 'ere," Daryl told her. "We'll go hunt and kick some ass."

* * *

**PART 3: **It's Daryl who gets the prize.


	9. MAE Flowers Special 1 (Part 3)

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Part 2: **Daryl caught Emyli rummaging through his stuffs. He ordered Emyli to join him in hunting so she can have some real fun.

* * *

MAE Flowers Special 1:** A Dare for Emyli (Part 3)**

* * *

For Emyli, hunting was another world. It was a world where her father paved the way in the woods for her to run free and explore. Both of them were calm and patient—she never saw his father's twitching lips during a hunt. They were comfortable with silence: light feet covering forest grounds and conversations made up of stares, nods and hand gestures.

Emyli did not consider herself a hunter. Hunting for her was more of an intimate conversation with nature rather than pursuing a prey. Yes, she left her snares and traps as she followed her father who was after the bigger game, but what she enjoyed was not the kill but the looking and seeing, hearing and listening, running and chasing, and most of all, touching and feeling. Emyli considered herself more of an explorer.

Hunting with Daryl was a different experience for Emyli. When Emyli got herself into hunting mode, her sense of touch heightens. She could literally feel and define movements several meters from her. And the man she was following now had a unique cadence she had not felt before. Her father's movements were firm and intimidating but at the same time subtle and cunning. Daryl's were fluid and unpredictable. He had sharp turns and impulsive steps. This made it hard for Emyli to follow her main hunter properly.

"Can't you be louder than that?" Daryl barked at her as she continued to step on dry leaves making noises, "ya'r scarin' dinner away!"

Emyli tried to ignore him to focus on Daryl's movements. She was yet to catch up on his rhythm and leaving snares became difficult to accomplish. Emyli decided to stop on her tracks and let Daryl do his thing: he went ahead and started shooting squirrels. Daryl did not wait for her and it's fine; she could easily track him later. Emyli consciously breathed, holding her snare wire feeling the slight weight of her bag on her back (which she emptied of non-hunting related items earlier). She touched the trunk of a tree, feeling its rough surface. She half-knelt and delicately grabbed a handful of soil. She playfully pulled grasses without uprooting them. Yes, this was where she belonged and perhaps it's time for her to find her own rhythm.

She stood up and followed Daryl using the echoes of his movements vibrating in the air, touching her skin. She didn't need to see him to know they're on the same track. Her steps and reach became more spontaneous. She stopped worrying about matching her main hunter's tempo and started moving on her own, leaving snares using her wire and twigs and tree branches on spots she knew were best. Her feet regained its feather light steps despite her carefree motion. And then something amazing happened: Emyli's unconstrained movements and Daryl's unpredictable stride suddenly were in sync. Emyli could feel it, despite the distance. Their movements matched effortlessly and to Emyli, it had become a silent dance. She caught herself smiling. _This _is fun. When she finally caught up to Daryl, she saw him looking directly at her as if he knew where she would appear; as if he'd been waiting for her.

Emyli wiped the smile off her face as she got stared at by Daryl. He had ordered her earlier to tie her hair and she did: in a single mid-ponytail. She was looking down but when she felt a subtle rustle from her side, she quickly nodded the direction to Daryl and he, in turn, pinned the squirrel instantly.

"Tha's better," Daryl commented as he grab the rodent. "Don' think we'll get ourselves a deer. Not one goddamn track."

"It's the smell," Emyli said, "it reeks of death. It will be a miracle if we find a deer here."

Daryl nodded and had the newcomer join his belt of squirrels.

"Ye think ya'll have luck with your snares?"

"Give them time," she answered walking closer to Daryl, "we'll see on our way back."

* * *

They walked side-by-side to a stream. Both of them sat on rock near the flowing water. While Daryl built a small fire, Emyli started cutting the squirrels with a shorter bowie knife she reserved for food usage. Daryl insisted to be the one to clean them, checking the internals to make sure they're safe to eat. He gave the squirrels back to Emyli for her to put them on sticks. When the rodents were already being cooked on fire, Daryl noticed Emyli fishing something from her bag.

"I don't eat them bland," she told Daryl coolly when she saw him eying her. She sprinkled salt and pepper on her chosen squirrel. "I'll put some on yours as well." Daryl did not protest.

They waited in silence for the meat to get tender. Daryl stared at the fire, turning the sticks with meat from time to time. But as much as he would like to focus on the grill, he also couldn't help stealing glances at the peculiar girl who was rummaging through her bag again. What she brought out were more unexpected than salt and pepper. Emyli took out a sketchpad, a pencil and a small eraser.

The girl started making strokes on the paper, looking intense and oblivious to Daryl's presence. Daryl had to look around to make sure no one was seeing him look curiously at this girl. In the end he just bowed his head and watched her only with his eyes.

With Emyli's hair pulled to a ponytail, Daryl could see her face clearly. Her brows were pulled together as if in deep thought. Her nose crinkled and she bit her lip. With the sketchpad on her lap, and pencil held by her right hand, she held her left on her side, playing her palms with her fingers as if feeling something; then she would continue making strokes on the sketchpad.

Daryl was caught unguarded when Emyli looked up and saw him staring at her. He quickly withdrew his eyes and snatched one of the sticks from the fire and started chomping on a squirrel.

"Are they ready?" Emyli asked putting her sketchpad aside and leaning forward to get a stick as well. She looked at the meat and decided to start eating.

Daryl cleared his throat. "Did ye have yar fun?" Daryl did not want to sound too concerned so he continued averting the girl's eyes and focused on his grilled rodent with pepper and salt.

"Yeah," Emyli responded half-heartedly as she put the unfinished meat on stick back to the fire. She grabbed her sketchpad and pencil again.

Daryl was not satisfied with the answer he got and he's angry at her. "Guess ya'r better off stealin' people's panties," he spitted.

Emyli stopped drawing. "You don't understand," she said with her usual blank expression. She stood up and closed her distance from Daryl. Then she presented to him her sketchpad. "This is me having fun."

Daryl was still sitting down so he had to look up at the paper. At first he did not understand what's on it; it only seemed like a lot of haphazardly drawn vertical lines. But when he saw the branches and leaves peeking from the edge of the paper, he realized it's a trunk of a tree. And when he looked back to the lines he became aware on how real it looked. How it seemed like you'd feel the rough and scarred surface of the trunk if you'd touch those lines.

He looked up at Emyli. "It's…different," says Daryl—obviously not having much word choice for appreciation. But Emyli smiled her subtle smile, nonetheless and sat beside Daryl. Too close perhaps, as Daryl moved a few inches to put space between them. Then he motioned for her to give him her sketchpad. Emyli obliged.

"That's what I do every time we hunt," Emyli whispered. "I draw something that feels…different." It's Daryl's turn to smile but sneered instead when Emyli used his word. "You draw people's faces too?" Daryl inquired handing the paper back to the girl. "Merle told me before he wanted a portrait of 'im with a dead deer on his shoulder. Told me it ain't cheap shit to get yarself drawn."

"Did you also want a portrait of yourself?" Emyli boldly asked. "No!" Daryl scoffed and chomped on a new squirrel; but Emyli could tell otherwise. She sighed and looked at her sketchpad. "For me to draw something, I need to feel it. With my hands," she whispered. "I draw costumes back before the dead walked. Before I could start, I always had to visit shops to feel the cloth first. I can't draw something I haven't touched." She looked at Daryl. "That's why I haven't drawn a single portrait. I don't go around touching people's faces."

Daryl nodded, looking away from her with an apparent gloomy look on his face. He completely looked away but Daryl could feel the girl staring at him. When Daryl glanced back, he was unable to deflect Emyli's hand, reaching out to him with her forefinger. She touched it to his left eyebrow tracing it delicately from end to end. Daryl froze on his seat and stared at Emyli seeing her innocent eyes gleaming and her lips with a barely-there smile. Her touch lingered as it went back to the other end of his brow. Then, just as quickly as she reached out, she withdrew her hand with the look of awe gone from her face. "Although it might be fun if I can draw a portrait someday," Emyli muttered as she grabbed her unfinished meal. She bit on the squirrel not conscious that the hot-headed hunter beside her has turned a light shade of red because of her gesture.

"Give that to me," Daryl snatched the sketchpad from Emyli and looked at it—eye-level and too close, covering his face. The girl didn't mind and just continued eating. When Daryl felt his face's temperature returned to normal, he put the paper on his lap and started flipping pages.

He did not get far as the two pages before the current one already caught his attention. A page contained a drawing of man's back: scarred and bloody; and the other page had drawing of two callused hands: one showing a palm and the other the back of the hand. Both were very realistic—they were almost scary.

"I drew them the night I went back to the dairy." Daryl snapped out of his trance when she heard Emyli's voice. The girl gently pulled the sketchpad from him and looked at the drawing he had been staring at. "When I decided to consider death, I thought I wanted to draw something one last time." Then she looked at Daryl with an unexpected smile. "The strongest memory my touch had that time was your flesh," she nodded. "You have good hands and strong back." Daryl looked at the girl and their eyes met and locked.

And then it was as if time stopped: Emyli put her sketchpad down, not breaking her eye contact with Daryl. Both of them leaned forward at the same moment as if on cue. Daryl slightly pulled back, hesitating—but Emyli was already on her knees in front of him . She reached out with her right hand—not just with a finger this time but with five and her palm. Gently and slowly, she touched Daryl's forehead. If Daryl had resisted, it went unnoticed because Emyli's fingers continued to carefully explore his forehead: tracing the lines there, feeling each pore. Then she went on to his temple; now, her touch was more certain, believing that Daryl would not pull away. Emyli's hand found its way to Daryl's ear; she used her fingers then her palm to feel it. He reflexively turned his head a bit to the direction of Emyli's hand.

The girl's palms found their way to the top of Daryl's head. She massaged his scalp letting his brown hair run through the spaces between her fingers. Then Emyli touched Daryl's eyebrows again, now with both of her hands. She used two fingers each hand to stroke his eyebrows, going down to his eyelids. Daryl closed his eyes. Emyli was thorough: she did not miss his lashes. When Daryl opened his eyes, Emyli's look was focused on the spot she's feeling and her touch was now under his eyes, taking time to trace the deep lines there. He twitched under her touch so Emyli's hands went on to the apples of his cheeks, and slightly pressed them as if telling Daryl to relax.

The girl put her left hand down as she touched Daryl's nose. Her fingers ended up with the hair above his lips where she made small circles with her finger. She found his mole near the corner of his lips. She used both of hands again to feel the hair on Daryl's jaws and chin. Then finally, she pressed a finger on his lips; she pushed his lower lips as if checking its softness, then she gently pulled it down with her finger, parting his mouth for a bit.

Then time started again as Emyli pulled away, taking her seat a couple of feet away from the hunter. Daryl had to shake his head, unsure of what had transpired. The girl touched him and it felt…different—that's the only word he had to describe it.

When Daryl looked at Emyli again, she's already in her own world, making strokes with her pencil on her sketchpad, drawing something he couldn't see. Daryl patiently waited for her, eating squirrels to pass time. The girl occasionally stopped to play her fingers with her thumb, as if remembering how something felt. She closed her eyes. And there was this one moment when she put her pencil between her teeth so she can hold the sketchpad and rub the eraser on the paper with her other hand. Daryl looked away to keep himself from turning red again.

They stayed beside the stream for about an hour. Emyli was able to finish two squirrels while Daryl ate around five. They're still sitting on their rocks not too far from each other when Emyli withdrew her pencil and put the sketchpad at arm's length from her so she could examine it from a distance. It seemed like she was satisfied as she handed it over to Daryl. The drawing was unmistakably him: he had looked back while walking away, with a snarl on his face.

Daryl nodded at the drawing, then at Emyli. "This, this is good," he said snapping at the portrait. "I'm takin' this as a prize fer takin' you out." He carefully took the page off the pad, folded it and put it in his back pocket. Emyli just shrugged.

Daryl stood up putting his crossbow to his back. Sitting Emyli threw him a peculiar look. Daryl followed her eyes and realized she's looking at his pants: it slid a little past his waist exposing the top of his underpants. Daryl pulled it up at once, but too late as Emyli already looked away—blushing.

* * *

They made it back to the farm before dark. Emyli's snares caught three rabbits which they brought back for the group to eat. Once they reached the camp, Emyli ran to the house where she was greeted by smiling Maggie and Andrea.

"So how did it feel, doing it in the woods?" Andrea teased.

"I wasn't able to get it," Emyli declared.

Maggie lost her smile and a concerned look replaced it. "Don't worry honey, there's always a next time—"

"But I saw it," Emyli said. Maggie and Andrea looked at her expectantly. "It's ahm…gray. Briefs." The two girls, containing their giggles, motioned for Emyli to continue.

But Emyli did not know what else they're expecting so she blurted, "well, I don't know if it used to be white…."

Maggie and Andrea bursted into laughter. Emyli just stared at them, not understanding.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Back to "regular programming" where Emyli...gets bitten?

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hi guys, I'm so sorry that this special Chapter took so long to be completed. I actually planned this special to be just one chapter but alas! That obviously did not work out. I hope you enjoyed this episode-this actually came from a dream and I just had to put it into writing.

**P.S:**

I realized that I haven't taken time to thank you guys for **fave-ing **and** following** _Walk with Me:_

Thanks so much guys for **fave-ing**:

Angel Mariee, AngelOfTheNight7897, DarkDove7835, Lightan117, Mrs. Kyle Hobbes, Nightingale'sLullaby, The-Dark-Love-Writer, TheDarkDeceiver, animefangirl0219, martysgirl26, mira97, shalmarrose, xNotGingerx

Thank you for **following:**

6747, AlmostAnne, , DarkDove7835, Leyshla Gisel, LilieLush, Lost-in-life-97, MyLivelyLove, Nightingale'sLullaby, ShyScarlett, StoryReader1996, The-Dark-Love-Writer, TheDarkDeceiver, ZombieCow, breaktheseodds, lovelivebelieve, lynn2008, mesiliis, shalmarrose, smkelover, vinny-nicole

I've also been responding to **reviews** in PM, but I guess some readers would want to see the author's response to others' review. So here are mine:

**_6747: _**no, Emyli will _not_ be dreaming on the next chapter where she'll get "bitten" :) Emyli did not get laid at all but I hope you liked how the dare turned out for her and Daryl.

**_smkelover: _**I'm so happy you liked Chapter 6. :) Daryl will definitely react if his personal portrait artist gets bitten, haha.

That's it! Christmas is approaching and that means Holidays! More time to write as we wait for the second half of TWD Season 3. Expect the next chapter soon :)


	10. Chapter 7 - 18 Miles Out

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Carol brought Daryl to his tent and their conversation did not end well. Emyli spent the night looking out for Beth with Maggie and Andrea.

* * *

Chapter 7:** 18 MILES OUT**

* * *

It's supper and it's a shame that no one had the appetite to eat the dishes Lori and Carol made out of the rabbits Emyli caught with her snares. In a few hours, it would exactly be a day already since Rick and Glenn went out to look for Hershel; no one was in the mood to eat and everyone tried to finish their share in silence.

"We have to look for them." Shane had spent the whole day convincing everyone to wait patiently; to not make any drastic move or decision. But now, it looked like he finally realized it had been too long that the others had been away. Lori was the first one to raise her head. "I'm coming with you,"—this was what most of them expected to hear from the woman but she kept her quiet while the others nodded to Shane. The group suddenly had the motivation to finish their meal.

Shane nodded to Daryl, T-Dog and Andrea after supper and they gathered around the green Tucson. Emyli looked at them from the camp and her eyes met Daryl's. She wanted to go with them, but Daryl shook his head and averted her eyes. Emyli did not have the moment to sulk as Carol approached her and gave her plates and utensils for her to wash. She followed her and Lori to the house. Emyli barely finished sponging one plate when people started rushing inside as well.

Rick, Glenn and Hershel were back. Everyone now gathered in the dining area, sitting in front of the table. Rick explained how they ended up bringing a wounded young boy named Randall to the farm; how he planned to send him off once he had healed. Shane reacted instantly when he heard this; he thought that the guy was a threat. But Rick believed otherwise, saying Randall was blindfolded the whole time they were travelling and there's no way his group was looking for him as they left him for dead.

The tension was too much for Emyli and she had never been so glad to wash the dishes—she left the dining room silently to finish her chore. From the sink she could hear Shane's mocking voice followed by Hershel's. The bomb was ticking again. Only this time, the impending explosion might kill more than just a handful of walkers.

* * *

Emyli spent the next two days with Carol on her tail. She had been giving Emyli chores like washing the dishes (she broke 2 plates, 1 glass), preparing the vegetables for cooking (she had 2 cuts each her index and middle finger), having her collect dirty laundry (she actually went to Daryl's tent asking for his dirty clothes—Emyli got shooed by an irritated Daryl). Andrea, from the top of the RV, had looked at Emyli with narrowed eyes, shaking her head. She just shrugged and curled her lips a bit to tell Andrea it's okay.

On the afternoon of the third day, Beth finally recovered; she could now move about and speak. Emyli made lemonades for her and for the others. Maggie wanted to talk to Beth alone first so Emyli decided to distribute the drink at the camp.

"Giving these out to the group?" Carol caught her placing the glasses on a tray. She nodded. Carol took one glass. "Let me give this to Daryl."

Emyli almost reacted but stopped herself as she could not think of a reason why she would. Carol was about to go out of the house with the glass of lemonade when Lori called out: "Carol, do you think you can help me here?" Carol eyed Emyli: She perfectly knew she's not good with cooking (or any house chores). Carol put the glass of lemonade back down and went to help Lori. Emyli gladly put the glass on her tray and walked to the camp with it.

Daryl's tent was at the farthest part of the camp so Emyli walked there with one remaining glass. She saw him sitting near the brick pillar skinning a squirrel. Emyli presented the juice by putting the glass in front of his face, distracting him from his task. Daryl looked at her with an exasperated look and she returned a blank one. In the end, he just snatched the glass from her, drank the contents in one gulp, gave it back to Emyli and returned to skinning the squirrel.

"Beth has awakened," Emyli started standing, observing the rodent being peeled from Daryl's back.

"Go away," the hunter muttered not even bothering to look at her. Emyli tried to discover where his temper was coming from. Possibly still from the time she saw his underwear peeking from the top of his pants….

"I'm not here to ask for your laundry," she assured him and then whispered, "I want to hunt again."

Daryl stopped with his task and stood up. He faced Emyli and pointed the side of his knife to her face. "You, just go!" He lowered the knife, snarled and stared at her. Emyli tried to read him but couldn't place his anger—and she's usually good with discerning what causes people's ire. There must be a different, unusual reason why Daryl was mad at her.

Daryl hissed at Emyli and walked past her shoving her shoulder with his.

Emyli walked back to camp; T-Dog cornered her to give her his empty glass.

"What happened to you?" he asked looking at her holding her shoulder. T-Dog chuckled. "Your face is blanker than usual."

"Got bitten," Emyli announced and T-Dog's smile was replaced by fear and concern. He immediately pulled Emyli's hand away to see what she's covering: Nothing; no bites. "What, man? Not a good joke!"

"I was bitten by a mad dog," Emyli insisted.

"You're talking about Daryl?" T-Dog asked finally realizing; he took a quick glance at Daryl's tent then shook his head. "Might as well be poking a bear."

"Yeah," Emyli replied coolly. "Moodier than Lori. Sometimes I wonder who is pregnant."

T-Dog laughed curtly.

"Hmm," Emyli blurted in afterthought, "you really thought if I was bitten by a walker I would just walk to camp with a blank expression?"

T-Dog smiled and shrugged. "Not hard to imagine. That look is all you have."

"Right," she muttered, unoffended.

Emyli walked back to the house once she has collected the empty glasses. Halfway there, she met Andrea who just stormed out of the door. Even from afar Emyli could tell she just argued with someone.

"Are you okay?" Emyli asked her.

Andrea let out an exasperated breath. "You…T-Dog said you can shoot a target without looking at it. And you saved Daryl's life," she said. "You should be one of the people guarding, securing this farm."

Emyli waited for her to continue as she hadn't understand her point yet.

"But instead, Carol and Lori have you running around asking for laundry, giving out sandwiches and lemonades," Andrea went on with a frustrated look on her face.

"Hmm…who did you have a row with?"

"Lori," Andrea exhaled again as if to fan her anger. "She said I'm not contributing to the group: Me sitting there on top of the RV with a shotgun…working on my tan."

"Keeping watch and working on your tan…it's called multitasking," Emyli said casually, "far from being unproductive."

That seemed to put a break on Andrea's rage, and then she stared at Emyli, almost in awe. "Lily, what do we do without you?" she said, smiling.

Emyli shrugged. "You won't play truth or dare without me."

Andrea giggled, obviously not upset anymore. "Beth hid a knife when Lori served her food," she said on a serious tone now. "She told Maggie she wants to die." She walked past Emyli. Emyli, in turn, was to run towards the house but had to stop when Andrea called her name. "By the way, your lemonade sucks," she said grinning playfully.

"I knew it," Emyli mouthed as Andrea walked away to the camp.

Screams could be heard coming from Beth's room. Emyli saw Lori and Carol staring helplessly at the closed door. She didn't know what to say or do. Emyli thought of what she could have felt if Kate had wished for death instead of choosing to fight with her…and she had herself caught in a loop when she realized she also couldn't figure out what she would have said or what she would have done.

Emyli stayed in the house until they had to prepare supper. Lori and Carol went back to the camp to prepare dinner there so Emyli helped Patricia in the kitchen instead. There's no shouting anymore but Maggie still had not come out of Beth's room.

"Hmm…can you just go fetch Hershel, sweetie?" Patricia courteously told Emyli frowning at her sliced carrots. "I'll finish this." Emyli went out of the house wondering why she could clean kills properly but could not cut vegetables fit for cooking.

She saw Andrea stepping on the porch. "I'll look out for Beth so Maggie can eat supper," she told Emyli who nodded.

Hershel had been absent since morning. Emyli suspected he was yet to fully recover from the barn incident. She searched the shed, borrowed binoculars from Shane to look at the fields (and noted that Daryl did not join the group's dinner) but the old man was nowhere in sight. Emyli had a hunch where she could find him but she saved that place for last.

And she's right: Emyli found Hershel in the barn, sitting on one side, staring at something across. By the looks of it, he had been cleaning the place up the whole day; it almost bore no clue of what its previous occupants were. Hershel looked up as Emyli approached him.

"We stopped in a town on our way to Georgia," Emyli recalled. "There was a doctor and he had a big house. His neighbours ran to him with their bitten loved-ones." Emyli stopped walking and stood beside where Hershel is sitting; she also looked at the opposite side. "He accepted everyone and did not discriminate. His house was full of people with fever and walker bites. Once they'd turn, I think they'd lock them in a certain room. My father, Kate and I, we had tried to save people from walkers and we knew it's over once people get bitten. We tried to point this out to the doctor; we told him that he should end the suffering of those who have turned."

Hershel remained silent as he listened to Emyli. She continued: "But the doctor told my father: What if he kills them and then somebody finds a cure? There's still hope. All illnesses have a cure just like there's a key to every lock. We just need time to discover what it is and give chances for those who are ill."

"And then what happened?" Hershel asked in a low voice.

"Someone unlocked the room one night without permission," Emyli said. "The house—and the whole town got overrun."

"Same thing could have happened if Rick's group did not do what they did with this barn," Hershel said guiltily.

Emyli sighed. "In these times, hope is a luxury that only brave people can afford. And oftentimes, brave people are not the wisest. Hope is a double-bladed sword that inspires desire to continue to live, but at the same time triggers death if reacted on incorrectly." She looked at Hershel. "I don't think it's bad to hope. I'd sooner buy hope than apathy. It's not your fault—not anyone's fault—so start forgiving yourself. Maggie and Beth need you."

Hershel nodded and stood up. As they made their way back to the house, they saw Andrea running towards it as well. Maggie came out and by the looks of it, she's shouting at Andrea.

"She wants to live," Andrea said nodding with a slight smile, "she made her decision.

"She tried to kill herself!" Maggie argued. Then, when she saw Hershel, she immediately ran up to him and told him what happened. Hershel hurriedly went inside the house. Maggie turned to Andrea again. "Stay away from her," she hissed at Andrea then turned her back and left for the house.

"What happened this time?" Emyli asked Andrea.

"Beth cut her wrist," she told her. "I left her so she can make her own decision."

"The end justifies the means?" Emyli challenged Andrea.

"They've been shouting at each other for half the day and Beth still wanted to die," Andrea defended. "Tell Maggie I'll cut my own wrist if Beth attempted suicide again after what I've done," she said then walked away.

Hershel stitched Beth's wrist. Maggie and Emyli stayed in Beth's room after.

"I'm sorry," Beth muttered for the hundredth time. Maggie, sitting on her bed, held her hands. "Please don't be mad at Andrea," she pleaded. "When I saw the blood…it was only then I realized I didn't want to die. So please don't blame her."

Maggie looked at Emyli as if to get her opinion. Emyli nodded in agreement to what Beth said.

"Okay, sweetie, I'm not angry anymore," Maggie told Beth. "Just sleep now."

* * *

Beth spent the next day resting. Andrea had approached Maggie to apologize and Maggie told her it's alright now and they're still friends. That night, Randall woke-up. Shane and Rick secured his blindfold, roped him to the bed and locked him in the room. They planned to take him out tomorrow morning.

Next morning came and Carol and Emyli prepared some food and drink for Randall. Shane and Rick put him at the back of the green Tucson all tied up with a pair of earphones and a bonnet covering his head and they drove away.

In the afternoon, Emyli asked permission from Maggie and Hershel if she could take Beth out for a walk in the field. In no time, the two girls were out there. They're a few meters away from the brick pillar and on the other side, a few meters away from the woods. They're sitting on the grass facing where the sun will set.

"Now that I have decided to live, my worry is keeping me and the others alive," Beth confessed in a low voice. "It's just us against a whole world of those…things. Rick will save his family and you and Daryl got each other. We have no one to protect us but dad and Jimmy…."

"Beth," Emyli said. "We don't need people who want to die protecting each other," she told her firmly. "What we need are people who want to be _strong_ for each other. So no one has to die saving someone else." Beth looked at her pondering on what she said. After a few seconds, Beth nodded. "I want to be strong. Like you."

Emyli smiled at her. "I just thought of a game," she said. "Do you think you can run now?"

Beth shrugged. "The cut wasn't big and deep and I've rested yesterday."

"Good. Walkers are slow and part of basic survival is outrunning your predator," Emyli told her. "Let's go around and ask them who wants to play tag with us."

After a few minutes, Beth has dragged Maggie and Jimmy to the field while Emyli has T-Dog and Andrea.

"No Carl?" Andrea asked looking around.

"I couldn't find him," Beth answered.

"We need someone really fast lest this will not be a good training," Emyli announced.

"Hey! I can be fast!" T-Dog argued jokingly.

"Not as fast as Glenn," Maggie remarked.

"I was hoping we can get him too but it's his shift with the watch," Emyli explained.

"Daryl," Andrea blurted looking teasingly at Emyli. "Go get Daryl."

It took a few seconds for Emyli to react. "Okay, I'll ask him. Just…warm up for now. Run around the field."

Emyli walked towards his tent. She didn't ask him earlier because she knew he'll find the idea ridiculous and will just scold her for being silly.

"Ahm…do you want to join us?" Emyli found Daryl eating a grilled squirrel behind his tent. "We're going to play tag near the woods. We thought it'll be fun if you play with us because you run fast and—"

"You should have stick with the laundry," he scoffed at her. "I ain't playing ya'r stupid game." He stood up and walked past her towards the tent's opening.

"I don't understand you," Emyli blurted as she turned to Daryl's direction. "You pull away from the group; you're here like eighteen miles out, away from us." Daryl stopped on his tracks and Emyli stepped towards him until she's facing him. "I know you can fend for yourself. You could leave anytime you'd want. Instead, you _pull_ away—not _run _away." Emyli smiled at him. "You must like this group. You just don't want to admit it." She turned her back on him and started to run. "We'll just be out there if you change your mind!"

* * *

The sun was about to set and Daryl had been trying to keep his mind off what the silly girl had said. He was lying on his cot inside the tent watching the orange skies when Carl came running to him from the woods' direction with a horrified look on his face. He instantly pulled himself up and went outside the tent with his crossbow.

"Emyli!" Carl said, panting. "I-I was wandering in the woods when I heard screams…. Someone shouted that she got bitten!"

Daryl's face contorted to fury and he ran the fastest he could to the woods.

It took him a while to find Emyli as it's hard to track while running. There were a lot of prints on the ground—they sure had fun playing tag. Daryl ran with his crossbow aimed and ready. Some walkers must have found their way to the farm. He scolded the silly girl in his head—at the same time, he thought of the possibilities: Where was she bitten? On the arm? Leg? Neck? Would it be somewhere that could be severed? Daryl knew the girl could fight so she must have been bitten saving someone. No use speculating, he told himself, he'll know once he finds her.

And Daryl did. Emyli was running as well when he saw her; she stopped when she saw Daryl. But when the hunter came charging at her, Emyli ran away from him.

"Emyli!" Daryl called furiously. The girl was fast; he had to speed up to catch up to her. When he did, he caught the girl around the waist and before she could react, Daryl put his crossbow on his back and scooped Emyli off the ground. He lifted her knees with one arm while the other supported her back. Then he ran to a spot with lesser trees—so he could clearly see if a walker was approaching. He laid Emyli down on the ground and unsheathed his knife.

"Where were you bitten, silly girl," Daryl muttered furiously as he pushed Emyli's sleeves up to check her arm. The girl tried to sit-up but Daryl immediately pushed her back and pinned her to the ground with one hand while the other lifted her shirt to check for—

"No!" Emyli screamed. She slapped Daryl's hand and it was only then that he snapped out of his rage. Emyli pulled herself to a sitting position, moved away from Daryl as she straightened her sleeves and the bottom of her shirt.

Daryl looked at the girl looking scared—her stoic façade now gone. She hugged herself as she trembled.

"Daryl!" Andrea came running followed by Maggie…and Carl. "S-she was…she wasn't bitten," she explained between breaths. "That was just our version of tag, you're it." She motioned for Maggie to help Emyli.

Daryl replaced his knife and stood up, mad at everyone. Then he looked at the girl again, now being assisted by Maggie. He couldn't see her face anymore as they began to walk out of the woods. Carl followed them and when they were out of sight, Andrea approached him.

"What happened?" she asked him. Daryl began to walk out of the woods as well, Andrea walked beside him. "I never saw her with that look before."

"Thought she was bitten," he answered. "I tried to check for bites. I took 'er down and pushed 'er sleeves up and lifted 'er shirt—"

"I think what she said before is true," Andrea surmised with narrowed eyes. Daryl stopped to look at her; he has a confused look on his face. "She told us that she was abused by her father since she was thirteen." It's no news to Daryl as he learned that the night they stayed at the dairy. Andrea continued when she saw his unimpressed look. "Abused. Sexually."

Daryl spitted and continued to walk as if to say it's rubbish.

"It's the only explanation I can think of…why she would look that frightened when you touched her—"

"I didn't touch 'er!" Daryl roared then he stormed away thinking, pondering hard on what he had done and what he should do next.

* * *

**Next Chapter: **Daryl gets advice from the boys.

* * *

**Writer's Note**

Hi guys!

I'm so sorry it took a while for me to post this chapter—I actually forgot to upload it before our family trip to Hong Kong and I just came home!

How about you, how did you guys spend your Christmas?

I'd like to thank all these awesome readers who put Walk with Me on their **Favorite **list:

**_Leo Potter, Rainy Day baby, jalenreedmua_**

And these wonderful readers who **Followed** this story:

**_CreepyDaisy, D. Kenedy, Kris83, Leo Potter, Regin, jalenreedmua, kschu02,_**

I hope to hear from you guys :)

And for those who left **Comments/Reviews**…a BIG THANK YOU!

**_Guest:_** I'm so happy you loved the previous chapter. I'm sorry it took a while for me to update but here it is

**_jalenreedmua: _**Thank you so much! I'm so glad you loved the story. I hope you continue reading

**_smkelover: _**Glad to hear from you again! And I'm thankful you are still finding this story loveable

**P.S**

It'll be January in a few hours and I can't wait for the second half of season 3! I've been having TWD withdrawal symptoms…I miss my weekly dose of Daryl

I have dreamed of Daryl several days ago and it inspired me to write another TWD fanfiction.

Please check it out if you don't mind Daryl having wings: **NEW WORLD**

(I can't seem to copy the link properly so just type this site's address and then add /s/8820673/1/New-World)

Happy New Year!


	11. Chapter 8-Judge,Jury,Executioner(Part1)

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Rick brought a young, wounded guy named Randall to the farm. Beth recovered but tried to commit suicide. Rick and Shane took Randall away to cut him loose. Emyli played tag with Beth and others. Daryl thought Emyli was bitten by a walker and came to her rescue—but Emyli trembled on Daryl's harsh handling of the situation.

* * *

Chapter 8:** JUDGE, JURY, EXECUTIONER (PART 1)**

* * *

Daryl paced back and forth in front of the young, wounded prisoner.

Rick and Shane went back with Randall still at the back of the Tucson; they failed to cut him loose. Now Daryl had to interrogate the boy as if they had not confirmed yet that he's a threat.

Daryl punched Randall who cried, whimpered in pain. He's definitely angry, but not necessarily with this guy. Daryl's angry with himself; for what happened with the silly, little girl yesterday and for even caring. He punched the kid again, this time, making sure his face touches the ground. Daryl punched him again, and again, and again; each punch fiercer than the previous one.

"I told you…" Randall pleaded with his bloody face.

"You told me shit!" Daryl took him by the collar and bumped him on the wall.

He continued to ask Randall questions. The questions barely came close to the number of punches and kicks, but he did ask him some and he got some answers. Daryl had to threaten him with a knife. He had to put the knife near, very near to Randall's wounded leg, too near and too sharp for comfort. Thirty men with heavy artillery, that's what Randall confessed. Daryl kicked his wound and the kid screamed. He was about to just punch him some more and leave…when Randall made a very wrong move of sharing a story about his former group.

"These…these people took me in," he panted. "Not just guys, a whole group of 'em. Men, women—kids, too, just like you, people!" Daryl stepped back, eying Randall. "We go out, scavenge…just the men. One night we found this little campsite. A man and his two daughters…teenagers, you know? Real young…real cute…."

Daryl's back was on Randall but with the kid's words and tone, he had an idea where the story was going. He slowly turned to look at him with nothing but hatred in his eyes. Randall stopped talking and fidgeted under Daryl's glare, realizing too late that running his mouth had equalled to digging his grave. He opened his mouth again, knowing he's doomed whether he continued the story or not.

"Their daddy had to watch while these guys…" he said looking down, "they…. And they didn't kill him afterwards! They just…they just made him watch…."

The image that flashed before Daryl's eyes was not that of a father watching helplessly as his two daughters were violated; what Daryl saw was a scared, little girl…trying hard not to cry, trying hard not to make any sound so her younger sister would not hear while their father abused her—tearing her clothes apart and giving her _the rod._

Randall was lying face down on the floor, unmoving. The red light that blinded Daryl to fury was now gone. Both his fists were bloody. He looked down at the kid, most probably dead. He stood up and shook his head, slapped his own cheeks. He had never been this angry. And for what? For a silly, little girl who saved his life.

Daryl checked Randall's pulse; the kid was still alive. He went out of the barn to tell the group what he learned.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Dale approached Emyli, sitting inside of the RV. The rest of the group were outside, awaiting Daryl from his interrogation with Randall.

Dale sat on a chair in front of the girl. Emyli just looked down; she tried to mask her fear with her blank expression and she almost succeeded; but fear peeked through her innocent eyes….

"I am," she told Dale, not feeling a little bit okay.

Dale studied her face closely. "It's Daryl, right? I heard what happened from Andrea."

Emyli did not have a choice but to tell the truth. She nodded.

"But you have always known Daryl's nature," Dale said. "He's rough and tough. He's known for his temper—"

"But he can also be gentle…and caring," Emyli whispered remembering how Daryl stroke her hair to comfort her when she was at the verge of deciding to kill herself.

"And you were not afraid of him," Dale agreed. "Even though he scolded you and pushed you away, you still always manage to end up by his side."

Emyli bit her lower lip. "I guess I never really saw him as a man."

Dale narrowed his eyes, not quite understanding.

"Yesterday was the first time I saw him angry," she explained. "I mean, I saw him sneer and scowl a lot of times but it's almost always just to conceal his real feelings. But yesterday…" Emyli sighed, "I saw my father in him."

Dale was taken aback; now he understood why Emyli was so frightened of Daryl.

"He doesn't have my father's twitching lips," she continued, fear slowly breaking free from her face, "but his eyes…and his hands as he pinned me to the ground and tore my clothes—"

"Daryl didn't do that!" Dale said firmly, concerned. He placed a hand on Emyli's shoulder. "He did not tear your clothes, dear."

Emyli looked at him with tearless eyes, as if asking him if what he said was true.

"It pains him, believe me," Dale said, pulling his hand away from the girl, "when he saw you trembled and scared because of him. Do you know why he was furious? Why he had that vicious look in his eyes when he searched you for bites?"

Emyli slowly shook her head.

"Because he thought he was gonna lose you!" Dale said. "Never mind the stupid paying of debt because you saved him. Daryl was so angry…and scared at the same time because he thought he was going to lose you."

* * *

Daryl approached the group gathered at the camp.

"Thirty men," he announced with gritted teeth, "They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through 'ere, our boys are dead." He turned his head to the sound of people coming out of the RV: Dale and Emyli came out. "And our women they gonna…they're gonna wish they were."

"What did you do?" Carol muttered.

"Had a little chat," Daryl answered.

Rick told the group something about Randall being a threat and eliminating the threat but Daryl couldn't care less. He was trying to catch Emyli's eyes but she's looking down—and when their eyes finally met, she instantly looked away and followed Carol to the house. He supposed his scowl and bloody fists did not improve the situation.

"Shit," Daryl mouthed as he made his way to his tent, not sure if he cursed because the silly girl was still upset with him—or because it seemed like he actually, truly cares. He didn't know what to do; this was the first time he ever felt uncomfortable because of other people's feelings toward him.

An hour after, Daryl saw Rick approaching. He stood up from sharpening his knife in front of his tent.

"Ropes," Rick said, "we need it for Randall. Do you still got some?"

"So it's gonna be the noose, huh? Take some from the bag over there," he pointed his motorcycle. He watched Rick as he took the ropes. "Thanks," Rick said. Daryl was to go back to his task when he called Rick out almost against his own will. "You got a minute?"

Rick made his way back to Daryl's tent. "Something bothering you?" he asked him.

Daryl didn't know how to say it; he didn't _want_ to say it. "Emyli," he mumbled, looking down and looking shy. "Think I might have done something stupid to her yesterday…."

This made Rick smile. Daryl snorted and decided it was a bad choice to ask people about this problem. He was about to tell him to just forget about it when Rick said: "A flower always goes a long way."

"A flower?" Daryl repeated, frowning.

Rick just nodded, tapped Daryl's shoulder twice and walked away.

The thought of giving the silly girl a flower was unimaginable to Daryl. You give flowers to girls—to _ordinary _girls, and Emyli was anything but ordinary: A girl who could kick ass and didn't cry; a girl who loved her sister so much, she didn't have a dream of her own; a girl who asked for a man's underpants without blinking an eye—you don't give flowers to a girl like that….. And it was then that Daryl realized he never actually saw Emyli as girl; she's just…_different _to him.

"Fuck," Daryl muttered frustratingly, because if it's not flowers, then, what would it be?

Daryl got an idea after a few minutes. He prepared his arrows for his crossbow. He was barely done preparing when someone approached him: he scoffed at the sight of Dale

"The whole point of me comin' up 'ere is to get away from you people," Daryl said.

"Gonna take more than that," Dale answered coolly.

Dale went on, telling Daryl about his "new role in the group".

"I'm better off fending for myself," Daryl told him, "this group is broken."

"You act as if you don't care."

"Yeah? Cause I don't." Daryl took his jacket from the brick pillar and put it on.

"So live or die you don't care what happens to Randall?"

"Nope."

Dale tried to convince him to stand with him and try to save Randall's life if it would not matter to him one way or the other. Dale told him his opinion makes a difference. But Daryl shrugged it off and turned to walk away.

"You cared about Sophia," Dale called out, "cared what it meant to the group. You care about Carol and Emyli." That made Daryl stopped. "Torturing people? That isn't you. You're a decent man!"

Dale told him about how Shane was different. But Daryl already knew too well about Shane killing Otis. Rick knew it as well; he just didn't _want_ to know it so he turned a blind eye.

"Like I said," Daryl repeated, "group's broken," and turned his back to Dale once more.

"At least you're gonna make it up to Emyli," Dale said as a last resort, "right?"

"Yeah," he said not looking back, "such a pain in the ass."

Daryl went hunting. There were a lot of squirrels but they weren't what he's looking for for today. He wanted something bigger. A deer was highly unlikely. Before an hour was over, he got himself a raccoon—clear shot between the eyes.

He brought the raccoon with him as he walked toward the house. He's thinking of something to say. Perhaps something like: _I didn't know…but it ain't matter. 'Cept that I would have whipped your dad's dead ass had I known earlier._ It sounded very wrong even in his head and it didn't tell what he actually felt—except perhaps for the whipping her father's dead ass part. Daryl could feel his anger stirring in him again; it _did_ matter. He could see Emyli's innocent eyes and he still found it hard to believe she experienced that kind of abuse. No wonder she had made herself numb.

But Daryl made her relieve that suffering because he was stupidly harsh. He had asked himself why he had reacted that way when he heard the silly girl was bitten. Yes, he's got terrible temper but he's usually level-headed as well. Instead he had rushed to the woods all teeth and claws. And now he needed to—

"Hey!"

Daryl stopped and turned: Glenn and T-Dog walking toward him from the camp.

"Is that fo' dinner?" T-Dog asked hopefully, eying the raccoon.

"You wish," Daryl scowled.

"Yeah, one will not be enough for the whole group," Glenn commented on a serious note.

"I know who that's for," T-Dog said, he could not help but grin. "Tha's for Emyli."

Daryl breathed exasperatedly. "Shu' up," and stepped to walk on.

"Wa-wait!" Glenn called apologetically, stopping Daryl. "Sorry. We're just…restless. We don't know what to do with ourselves with…"

"With a kid to be executed tonight?" Daryl suggested. "It'll be my first night as well."

They were silent for a while.

"Well…" Glenn muttered carefully. "Do you already know what to say to her?"

Daryl frowned at him. "None of yer business." He started walking but T-Dog and Glenn tailed him.

"I'm also not good with these things," Glenn confessed. "I don't know how to tell Maggie—"

"We ain't like you," Daryl snapped at him.

There's something wrong with these people, flocking around him today. Didn't they see what he did to that kid? It'd take a lot of effort to suppress his anger but if he was to approach her, he better not look like what he did yesterday—so he let the two thugs tail him: with gritted teeth and clenched fists.

"Ain't nobody else sneaks up at night 'cept you two," Daryl added.

"Shit," Glenn blurted, shocked. "You saw us?"

"If you're not like Glenn and Maggie," T-Dog interrupted, "you two are…friends?"

Daryl had to think…were they friends?

"Both of them know how to hunt," Glenn suggested, "and they hunt together. So, hunting partners?"

Daryl shrugged. "Jus' not Glenn and Maggie."

Daryl suddenly stopped and so did T-Dog and Glenn. They saw from afar how Carl walked away from Carol in front of the graves. Then Lori and Rick came from the barn; Carol approached them. Rick ran to Carl while Lori stayed with Carol. Then Emyli came into view; walking with Carol when she turned her back from Lori.

"I always thought she's cute," Glenn said looking ahead.

Daryl's cheek twitched. He felt uncomfortable seeing two men look at Emyli.

"She looks like a doll," T-Dog told Glenn.

"A doll?" Daryl repeated, sneering. He had once thought she looked like an angel. A doll seemed like a ridiculous comparison—

"You know man," T-Dog said, "the one without expressions. The one that looks pretty and scary at the same time."

Now Daryl agreed with him.

"Just tell her you're sorry," he heard Glenn said sincerely. Daryl looked at him and realized he had been staring silently at the silly girl for a while. He nodded and started to walk toward Carol and Emyli.

"So the hunter's gonna make the doll smile!" T-Dog teased; finally the two men letting him walk on his own.

Daryl raised his middle finger to T-Dog without looking back.

* * *

**Next chapter: **Carol confronts Emyli and…Dale's decision.

* * *

**Writer's Note:**

Hi guys!

So I'm updating today to make up for the previous chapter's late posting.

Please let me know if you think I'm going to fast with Daryl. I just felt it's the right time for him to acknowledge how confused he is and how complicated his relationship with Emyli is.

And since T-Dog compared Emyli to a doll, I think it's also the right time to share with you how I think Emyli looks like.

**I posted a link of a picture of my doll cosplaying Emyli on my profile.** Do please check it out :)

Did it come close to how you've been imagining Emyli? Let me know :)

Again, thank you so much to these amazing readers who put Walk with Me on their **favorite **list:

**_Keckie, Louis Tomlinson Stole My Pants, gabby871_**

And to these superb followers who **followed **this story:

**_Keckie, Louis Tomlinson Stole My Pants, isopt_**

BIG THANK YOU for those who left a **review:**

**_Keckie _**– thank you so much again for your review I think some of your questions have been answered in this chapter (like if Daryl is gonna make up with Emyli). I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**_jalenreedmua_** – haha, sorry again for the Emyli gets bitten part, I hope you'd like this chapter :)

…and a VERY SPECIAL THANKS to **Keckie** who left me a **review, followed and favorite-ed Walk with Me—and me as an author**. Whew! Thank you so much! It was actually because of her that I wanted to post this chapter the soonest

Till next chapter, guys!

(Next chapter comes at most a week from now.)


	12. Chapter 9-Judge,Jury,Executioner(Part2)

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Daryl was consumed by his anger when he interrogated Randall. He planned to make it up to Emyli but was not sure how to. He got a few encouragements from the boys.

* * *

Chapter 9:** JUDGE, JURY, EXECUTIONER (PART 2)**

* * *

"I lost my daughter, I didn't lose my mind," Carol angrily told Emyli.

Earlier, Emyli was supposed to bring some food for Carol and Carl who were at the graves. But Carl ran away after saying hurtful things to Carol. She got mad at Lori as well, thinking Lori couldn't understand the gravity of what Carl said. Emyli accompanied Carol to the back of the barn so they could sit and talk for a while; she thought Carol needed this moment to vent. So the two women sat on grasses eating cucumber slices and carrot sticks.

"Even that boy thinks I'm crazy," Carol continued.

"He called you idiot, not crazy," Emyli nonchalantly as she bit on a slice of cucumber, "because you believe in heaven."

From Emyli's peripherals, she saw Carol glared at her. "What?" she asked her coolly. "You treated him like a kid. Carl is not a kid anymore—and he shouldn't be. Remain a kid and you'll die easily in this new world," she put the remaining half of the cucumber slice in her mouth and chewed.

Carol looked at Emyli with disgust "Has anyone told you you're an insensitive bitch?"

"The very reason I don't have many friends back in college and even at work," she told Carol, unoffended. "Cold and tactless. I'm known for my dry humor."

They eyed each other for a while: one with a furious look and one with a blank stare. Then it's Carol who broke the connection as she laughed softly—it wasn't a cruel or sarcastic laugh. Emyli smiled and handed her the bowl of cucumber.

"I guess every group needs someone like you," Carol sighed and ate a slice of vegetable. "Someone who doesn't patronize. Someone who can tell hard truths."

Emyli grabbed the plate of carrot sticks.

"You think Sophia could have survived if she was taught how to fight?" Carol asked sadly. "If she was not treated as a little kid?"

Emyli looked at Carol firmly. "I think everyone should know how to fight," she told her, "and cook."

"You'll make a terrible wife," Carol told her as she snatched a carrot stick.

"No shit," Emyli agreed, then, she looked at Carol and said this with a solemn face. "But I also believe in heaven."

Carol stopped chewing to ponder on what Emyli said. "Then you're an idiot."

Emyli pretended to look disgusted. "Insensitive bitch."

They smiled at each other again. For a short while, they just sat there, chewing on the vegetables.

Carol observed that Emyli liked the cucumber better than the carrot; the bowl containing the former was already empty with the last slice taken by Emyli. Emyli was about to bite on it when Carol said with a rather serious tone: "How old are you?"

"Twenty-three," she answered almost instantly and brought the slice of vegetable closer to her mouth—

But Carol held Emyli's arm to stop her—and she snatched the cucumber.

Emyli stared at Carol with her blank expression, trying to read her. She reached out to get the cucumber back but Carol did not let her.

"What do you think of Daryl?"

Earlier's air of friendliness now gone. Emyli thought Carol was still mad: mad at Carl, mad at Lori, mad at her. And if Daryl was involved, it can only mean another thing: jealousy.

"I think he cares for you," Emyli answered. And when Carol paused to reflect on that, Emyli took the cucumber from her.

"How did you know?" Carol asked curiously, then, took back the cucumber by grabbing it from Emyli's hand. "Every time I try to reach out, he would just get angry."

"He cares enough to be upset," Emyli explained and snatched the vegetable, "he wouldn't be like that if you're nothing to him."

This seemed to have amplified the jealousy instead of the other way around as Carol held Emyli's wrist to get the cucumber. "Really? So where does that put you?" she snapped at her. "I heard he was _enraged_ when he thought you were bitten."

It's Emyli's turn to reflect. She didn't take back the slice of cucumber. She's sincerely trying to answer Carol but could not think of a believable response. Then she thought of what Dale said earlier, about Daryl being afraid of losing her—and this made a mess of her mind and impeded her more to provide an answer.

Carol noted the confusion taking over the girl's blank expression. Then she repeated her question earlier: "What do you _really_ think of Daryl, Emyli?"

* * *

"A dog?"

Daryl stopped on his tracks at the sound of Carol's voice. He knew Carol was with Emyli and it's obvious the two of them were having a conversation. What Daryl didn't know was why walking up to them talking made him feel like he should not be heard or seen. He held his breath and leaned on the barn's wall and concentrated on listening. He suddenly became an eavesdropping Daryl—with a racoon for peace offering.

"My father brought this big, white dog home, one day." It's Emyli; and Daryl noticed an unfamiliar sound of awe in her voice. It's like she's recalling a dream. "A Great Pyrenees. He was dirty and wounded and would not stop barking at us. I never knew where my father got him. But as I looked at his wounds, I could tell that the lashes and his limp came from beating. Probably from his previous owner.

"We were asked by our father to take care of the dog. Kate, my sister, prepared a cot for him at my room, but every time we try to touch him, he would bare his teeth and bark at us endlessly. He would always run outside the house and stay in the garden; sleeping on the grass after ruining the plants and pots. Kate gave up on him after a day.

"So, I was all alone on the mission of taming this wild and elusive dog," Emyli continued. "I wanted to treat his wounds but he really would not let anyone touch him. So I started by trying to feed him. He would bark at me whenever I pushed the container with food to him. I would sit there, in front of him, waiting for the barking to stop, but it never did. He returned my stare with his glare and bared teeth. I could tell he was scared as he was angry.

"Eventually, he ate some food. He would wait for me to get tired listening to him bark. And when I turned around and not looking anymore, that would be the moment he'll take the container with his mouth to his spot in the garden and eat. We were like that for several days. There was a time I thought I noticed the barking became less fierce and thought I could get close and pet him. He bit my finger the moment I tried to reach out. But I didn't care. Every time after his meal, I would try to touch him: pat his head, or comb his fur with my fingers. He hated it. He never failed to show me how he hated it and how he hated me. But I stayed beside him. Stared at him. Watched over him 'till it's him who gets tired of me. I was hoping he would get tired of resisting and give in. It never happened.

"After a week, the howling began. I would hear him cry at night and see him licking, nursing his obviously festered wounds. He was crying in pain and he still would not let anyone help him. I tried everything to get close to him, to get him to trust me but he would just always…."

Daryl stood uncomfortably. He wanted to either: walk in to them, give the silly girl the racoon and get this over with; or walk away, put the damn kill on fire and eat it himself. He did neither and stayed leaning on the wall, listening.

"The dog…he was suffering," Emyli continued. "I felt terrible seeing him and not being able to help. And what I did after…it was impulsive, and mindless. The only thing I thought I could do. I grabbed him, and embraced him. As tight as I could. He struggled to escape. He barked and tried to bite me. I let go and he ran away. Far away from me.

"And it was me who got tired and gave up. I didn't want to see him die so even though I know he's just at his corner in the garden, I never called for him or went to see him again. Kate was surprised and was worried about me. I just told her to let the dog be and give him what he wants. He wants to die alone.

"Days passed and I almost forgot the dog was there. I didn't hear the howling or the barking anymore. I actually assumed he's dead. Then one day, he found me. In my room. He was whimpering as he walked towards me. He closed the gap slowly and carefully as if he's bracing himself, expecting me to bark at him or bite him. I just stared and waited. When he reached me, he climbed to my lap, nestled his head on my stomach and licked my hand. That moment, I realized what he was and what he really wanted.

"That is why I think Daryl is like my dog. He snarls and snaps at you not just because he's angry but much more because he's scared to get hurt again. Too afraid to trust anyone. He will bark at you if you try to feed him, bite you if you try to touch him. But in the end, he doesn't hate you. And what he needs is someone who will stick around despite the barking and biting."

Daryl froze when he realized the two women had been talking about him. After the shock came the rage, prying him from the inside. He would not be compared to a dog. Not by a silly, little girl. Not even if the comparison was spot-on.

"I see," said Carol. "And now you're tired and giving up because you got bitten. Do you also expect him to look for you and whine just so you'll stick around?"

He didn't hear how Emyli responded to that or if she did. Daryl stirred and made his presence known. Carol and Emyli paused to look at his side of the barn. He showed himself. Daryl tried hard to keep his face straight, to not let them see how angry he was. Both women stood up. He glanced at Emyli who stepped closer to Carol, trying to hide behind her with a scared look on her face. Daryl rubbed the back of his neck and slightly bowed his head, trying to control the twitching of his cheeks.

"Will ya…" he fumbled a bit so Daryl decided to reach out to Carol with his hand holding the racoon before continuing. "Will ye make somethin' out of this for 'er?" He nodded to Emyli who instantly avoided his eyes.

Carol stared at him unbelievingly but she took the animal, nevertheless. "Of course," she said through gritted teeth. Then she shoved something to his chest, which Daryl caught with his palm. Carol turned around and took Emyli by the wrist and she walked her to the house.

Daryl let out an exasperated breath and let go of the snarl he'd been keeping. Then he realized he's holding something. He opened his hand and looked: a slice of cucumber.

* * *

**Next chapter: **Dale leaves.

* * *

**Writer's Note:**

Okay…I know we're a little slow with this episode. I planned this to only be 2-part, but oh well. I believe the meat is really the group's decision about Randall's fate so don't worry, we'll get to hear the characters' opinion about this next chapter.

For the mean time, some questions to ponder on:

**_What do you think will be a good name for Emyli's dog, and why_**? (As this will not be the last time he will be mentioned.)

**_What do you think is Emyli's stand on Randall's fate?_**

**_How do you think Carol and Emyli's relationship will progress?_**

**_With Daryl's temper and Emyli's insensitiveness how do you think these two will make up?_**

Please let me know what you think.

**Shameless Plugging:**

The link of the picture of **my ball-jointed doll cosplaying Emyli is still on my profile!** Please do check it out.

I am currently writing another **TWD fanfic called** "**New World". **Its genre is fantasy, set in an Alternate Universe. Please give it chance; the chapters are intentionally short and each will only take less than 5 minutes to read

**Acknowledgements:**

**MARAMING SALAMAT!**

(This is how "thank you so much" is said in my country, Philippines.)

…to these awesome readers who put Walk with Me on their **favourite **and/or **alert** lists:

**Followed**

**_AsheeCakes07, NormanReedusBitch, Norman Reedus Stole My Pants 0, Verostar1221, morance, rosesapphire16, theGuppyFish_**

**Favorite-d**

**_NormanReedusBitch, Lilly72, Norman Reedus Stole My Pants 0, Verostar1221, nuku nuku6, rankagi, rosesapphire16, _**

**And BIG HUG to these readers who left a review:**

**_NormanReedusBitch _**Thank you so much, your comment made me smile :) Anything particular you liked? *wink wink

**_Guest _**Wow, thank you so much for your insight :) Really appreciated it. I was actually nervous when I wrote that line since I was not sure how to go about it. Part of me knows that as a victim of that kind of abuse, Emyli wouldn't just say it bluntly like that. But Emyli has also successfully built a wall around her, made herself numb and somehow looked at being abused as a way of protecting her sister rather than being victimized. She also had always been blunt with words and would say whatever it is on her mind. I think she could have just told Andrea and Maggie right then and there about the abuse but when they reacted the way they did, Emyli took a step back as she also don't want other people to pity her. Do you think this personality is enough for me to justify the way she "shared" her experience with sex? Let me know :) Thanks again.

**_rosesapphire16_**Aww, I'm so happy you found this story great. Any particular thing you liked? I'll be glad to hear :)

**_Lilly72_** Comments like this make me really happy, gives more reason for us writers to continue the story :) Thank you so much. Same question, though: Anything particular you found good?

**ON REVIEWS: **Reading them really fires me up and gets me to write faster. On the other hand, seeing a lot of views but no comments makes me think I'm missing something here and it bothers me and makes me write slower and hesitantly. So if you have anything, good or bad, suggestions, questions, requests, anything—like if there's a particular line you liked or you thought a line is completely out of character—just let me know :)


	13. Chapter 10-Judge,Jury,Executioner(Part3)

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Carol and Emyli were engaged in a conversation when Daryl was to approach Emyli. He overheard that he was being compared to a dog again, enraging him and leading him to just give her peace-offering for Emyli to Carol and walk away.

* * *

Chapter 10:** JUDGE, JURY, EXECUTIONER (PART 3)**

* * *

"How would you like your meat?" Carol asked as she prepared the raccoon meat in the kitchen. Emyli stood leaning on the wall staring at Carol's work.

"Salty?" Emyli said unenthusiastically.

Carol continued with the skinning and chopping and Emyli with the looking and staring.

"Emyli?"

It's Dale's voice. Carol looked at Emyli and motioned for her to answer him. "You can leave this to me," she said. Emyli nodded and ran to the door.

"There you are," Dale sighed and led her outside the house. "Are you feeling better?"

Emyli could sense he wanted to ask her something else other than her condition so she nodded and tried to curl her lips to a smile. "Good, I need your help."

Dale retold Rick's decision about executing Randall tonight. He thought it's not humane and Rick gave him until sunset to talk to everyone to convince them to save the kid.

"I might not have enough time to meet everyone," Dale said with a worried face, "I need you to help me talk to the others," he said firmly.

Emyli paused for a while. He knew what Dale wanted her to do; she's just unsure how to do it. "I'll do what I can," she told Dale. He smiled and nodded and started to walk away.

"Wait," Emyli called. "You haven't even asked me what I think about the execution."

"I don't have to," Dale replied without looking back, walking with his rifle swaying by his side. "I trust your objectivity."

Objectivity. Emyli convincing people was unheard of. Friends turned to her whenever they needed someone provoked by her blunt words and insensitive, _objective_ opinion. She believed this was the first time she was ever asked to persuade people—and for a good reason. Emyli's statements always sounded flat she could be the most unconvincing person in the world; she sounded cold even though she's truly being sincere. And by the way, what did she feel about Randall's execution?

She didn't know.

Emyli's impartial observation was that the new world had distorted the rules of morality so much that own's survival defines what was right for a person. And if this group felt like their survival was being threatened by Randall's existence, then perhaps it's right to execute him. She surmised that objectivity will not help Dale's cause. She had to find another approach.

* * *

She found T-Dog on top of the RV.

"Hey, your face ain't looking that vacant today!" he called from the top of the vehicle as Emyli approached with a worried face. She pulled her face the best she could to produce a pout. She climbed the RV. "Did anything happen to you and Daryl?"

"Daryl?" she easily got distracted and she lost the grimace she worked hard for.

"Yeah," T-Dog said, "he was supposed to make you smile."

"Ahm, no. I-I don't know," Emyli stuttered. "Buy my frown is not because of that," she showed it again to him. She pointed her face for emphasis. T-Dog crossed his arm and looked at her with a confused face. "I was thinking about Randall."

T-Dog instantly avoided her eyes.

"I was thinking that if your group didn't let me in, I probably still be in the woods," Emyli said, "probably dead by suicide." T-Dog returned his gaze at her, concerned. "I wonder what makes Randall different from me. Why I was let in and why he is gonna be executed."

"That's an easy question," T-Dog responded almost instantly, pointing her with a serious look on his face. "You were not a threat. Hershel knows your aunt. You're just a young girl who saved one of our boys. And you ain't used to be an errand boy for thirty men with big guns."

"Randall is also a young boy," Emyli reasoned. "He might not have saved Daryl but Rick saved him. And what if one of us knew him as well." She paused to think hard. "Let's say Glenn. Glenn was his friend. Would he still be a threat?"

T-Dog bowed his head, thinking hard. "That will not change the fact that he's got thirty men…"

"Yes," Emyli said promptly. "But do you think he'd still lead them here?" she pressed. "To his friend's camp?"

He put his palm on his forehead, his eyes looking sideways and upwards trying to figure out the trick question. "Perhaps no," T-Dog finally answered. But before Emyli could show her satisfaction, he added: "But Randall is _not_ Glenn's friend."

"No, he's not," Emyli agreed. She's remembering something. She bit her lower lip and told T-Dog: "But Randall knows Maggie. If I remember right, I think they said he went to the same college with her." T-Dog looked at her, trying to remember as well. "Isn't it the reason why Rick and Shane didn't leave him out there?"

"Yeah," T-Dog nodded.

"I bet it was Shane who thought Randall knowing Maggie increased the likelihood that he will lead his men to the farm," she surmised. "But the opposite could easily be true, right? Randall knows Maggie. Why would he want to harm her?"

T-Dog scoffed and shook his head. "You're too naïve for your own good, Emyli," he said. "That's not how relationship works. Friend is different from knowing someone. And it's Randall who knows Maggie, ain't the other way around."

"Why?" Emyli asked, confused. "Hershel didn't know me as well. He knew my _aunt_. Not me. Why wasn't I executed?"

"You ain't got thirty men with big guns."

"Would it have mattered if I was part of a fifty man-group with Swiss knives?"

She got T-Dog thinking again.

* * *

"Glenn, wait." Emyli saw him on his way to the house. He stopped at the sound of his name. "Emyli, what's up?" he greeted her. She walked up to him, slowly and with her head bowed.

"Are you busy?" she asked Glenn. "Do you think we can talk?"

Glenn looked around, perhaps to see if Maggie—or Daryl was around. Neither was, so he followed Emyli to the side of the house.

"Are you okay?" Glenn asked her, concerned. "Is there any problem?"

"I just want to assure myself I'm not the only one feeling scared."

Glenn blinked and stared at her: If she was scared, it did not show much on her face. Emyli began to think it's the wrong emotion to use.

"Don't you feel scared because of Randall?" she tried again. Emyli bit her lower lip and pulled her eyebrows down.

Glenn sighed. "I do," he breathed then tried to smile. "But I think we'll feel safer after tonight." He reached out and tapped Emyli's shoulder. She continued to look apprehensive. "Look. If we end this tonight, we don't need to worry anymore." Glenn looked hurt. "We've lost too many people…."

Emyli stepped back, dismissing Glenn's attempt to comfort her. "No, Glenn," she said. "It's not about that." Emyli shook her head. "I'm not scared of him because he's got a team with heavy artillery. I'm scared of what he's doing to the group." It seemed to confuse Glenn. He pocketed his hands and pursed his lips and listened. "After tonight, is that what we do to strangers? 'Cause I trust you don't believe this is gonna be the last time we'll meet someone from another group."

Glenn didn't have an answer to that. "So we kill Randall," Emyli continued. "and we feel relieved for the group with the threat eliminated?" Glenn nodded his head slowly, looking down with an anxious look on his face.

Emyli looked around. "You know, this farm is big. And it's never easy to hide big things," she said. "Those guys can easily be on their way here even without Randall as their tour guide." Glenn snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Emyli. "And if you think about it, it's highly likely there are other groups of survivors and if they have survived, they probably have weapons as well. There'll be a lot of other groups who would want this farm."

"Are we fooling ourselves that we're gonna stay here forever?" Emyli asked. "And if we do manage that…" she paused and waited for Glenn to look at her. "…I wonder how many men we have killed by then. How many families and children?

"That's what I'm afraid of, Glenn."

Glenn sighed again and ran his palm on his face.

* * *

Emyli couldn't find anyone else so she went back inside the house. She saw Hershel and Glenn talking in the living room. Emyli went back to the kitchen where she found Carol almost done with the dish and Patricia preparing for supper. The latter smiled meekly at the sight of her while the former gave her a quick glance then instantly returned to plating the meat.

Emyli paced back and forth, unsure of how to proceed. She was yet to figure out how to speak to Carol and Patricia about Randall. She believed Carol will be very stubborn on counting herself out on this one; she just lost her daughter and it's understandable. On the other hand, Patricia seemed too meek that she might have no opinion of the matter at all. In order to break these walls, she needed something…hard.

Emyli stopped walking and held onto a chair. "I was thinking of Randall." The plate Patricia was holding almost slipped through her hands. "I'm wondering if this is the right thing to do," she continued. "Everyone pretends like this is something that happens every night." Emyli's attempt to sound tender only came out as a low whisper.

Silence. Then Patricia slowly turned, facing Emyli. "H-he was with thirty men with guns," she muttered, scared. She glanced at Carol trying to seek affirmation but the latter just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"I know," Emyli said. "But killing him does not change that."

Patricia seemed to chew the inside of her cheeks; she looked muted by fear. The topic was definitely something she did not want to discuss.

Emyli inhaled. "Before we reached my aunt's dairy, we were on the road." She glanced at Carol still unperturbed, still deep in her task—or at least pretending to be. "I believe Carol—Rick's group had been out there as well."

Memories. A lot of things were coming back. She had pulled the cork and everything was rushing out, trying to flood her mind. They were memories of different kinds. She had seen a lot.

"Out there you count on the goodness of the people you cross path with," Emyli whispered. "I, my sister, our dad helped a number but we were helped countless times as well.

"By strangers. People you won't see again. People without names. Just faces…" she trailed off. Then Emyli smiled unconsciously at the memory, slowing it down as she tried to fill it with details. "But I always remember what they use to fight the corpses. I always remember what their weapons were…."

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Patricia. "Our dairy several miles from here got overran. If this farm falls as well—"

"Heaven forbid," Patricia blurted with eyes closed and palm catching her mouth.

"—we'll be back on the road. And trust me; there will come a time where we'll have no choice but to leave someone behind. It can be you…or me. Or Carl or Beth. And if somehow they evade the walkers, we'd be praying for the goodness of people who would find them."

"Your point is?" Carol mocked. She's now facing Emyli, leaning her back on the counter, her arms crossed in front of her.

"My point is," Emyli replied, "people still die. People still kill people. If you think about it, not much really has changed since the dead walked. But the opposite is also true: that as much as we can kill another human being, we can also be considerate and helpful."

Emyli exhaled. "Why are we so afraid of thirty men with big guns? Because they can kill us? We can execute or _not_ execute Randall and we're still gonna die."

"Then what should we do?" Patricia asked.

"I want to die without being tortured or raped," Carol said firmly. "I don't think we must interfere." She turned her back again and faced the wall. "Anyway, why the sudden interest, Emyli? It did not seem to bother you as much until Dale talked to you."

Emyli was about to respond to that but stopped herself because she suddenly didn't know what to say. It's true. What Carol said was true, Emyli knew that. And there's nothing harder than the truth.

She didn't give the issue a thought until Dale asked her this favor. And even then she didn't have her own answer to the ultimate question about Randall's fate. All she had was...objectivity. It wasn't because of compassion or morality that she's helping Dale. She's helping just because she was asked to. Nothing more.

And it's Emyli's wall that broke. She realized she was just being the usual insensitive bitch.

Emyli pulled a chair and sat down, thinking hard, reaching down her heart trying to retrieve an emotion…but she drew nothing.

Her blank stare was disrupted by the sound of plate placed on the table. It's Carol and the raccoon meat looking pristine and smelling real nice.

"Before you think of Randall," she said in a low but firm voice, "and before you eat this, think of Daryl. And think about what you _really_ think of him."

* * *

Emyli was left alone in the kitchen. Carol had stormed out of the house earlier and Patricia had to fetch water from the pump. She's unsure of what to do…and what to think. Carol's words echoed in her mind and she could clearly see Daryl: How hard he was suppressing his anger earlier when he heard her comparing him to her dog.

She never cared for anyone apart from her sister, Kate. So it's a wonder now why it seemed like she gave a damn about what Carol said. She used to just shrug off people's comments and Emyli could not think of a reason why she couldn't do the same thing now.

Emyli's cold and insensitive—that had been established long time ago by people who hardly knew her. It was only for Kate that she cared; only she could scare or worry her. This worked for Emyli as everything else failed to elicit any emotion from her—everything aside from Kate couldn't hurt her.

But her wall was broken down…ok, maybe _not _completely broken down but a portion of it was sure shattered by Carol's words. _It didn't bother you as much…. Think of what you really think of Daryl._ Her words made Emyli realize how numb she had become. How unfeeling. How objective. Before, she was that way effortlessly, naturally, mindlessly. It was only now that she had become conscious of the way she's _not_ feeling. And it bothered her.

Maggie found Emyli staring blankly at the dish in front of her.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

"I-I don't know," Emyli muttered having been startled by Maggie's sudden appearance.

The short-haired girl sat beside Emyli with a concerned look on her face. "Tell me."

Emyi sighed. "Daryl caught a raccoon for me and he asked Carol to cook it," she eyed the plate in front of her. Maggie's frown suddenly became a smile. "Really?" she asked unbelievingly. "That was…sweet of him. Why are you just staring at it? It'll be a shame of you won't eat it." Maggie's words troubled Emyli further. "Coming from Daryl, it must have taken a lot of effort to convince himself to do this."

"I know," Emyli blurted. "That's why I haven't eaten it." Maggie narrowed her eyes, not understanding. "I-I want to think of him first." She got a teasing look from Maggie. "I sort of hid behind Carol when he suddenly appeared," she explained. "I didn't know how to react...I didn't know what to say." Emyli tucked the hair on the right side of her face behind her ear—something she had rarely done. "He was furious again when he gave the raccoon and I remembered what happened yesterday, that's why….

"Anyway, I just want to somehow…feel grateful," Emyli continued, unsure of how effective she's putting her feelings—and the lack of it—into words. "I think this," she nodded at the meat, "will lose its meaning if I just eat it without appreciating what Daryl did."

Maggie nodded. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I can't feel anything," Emyli confessed. "I'm thinking of him but…nothing. There's nothing—except for the fear I felt yesterday. I thought I wasn't numb anymore when I was able to mourn for Kate. But now it feels cold inside again…" she put her hands on her shoulders as if to hug herself.

Maggie looked at her, not sure what to do. Behind Emyli's blank face and flat voice, she knew the girl was feeling miserable. She had figured out that the tactless, uncaring façade was built as a barrier so no one gets in, so no one else could hurt her. But Emyli felt imprisoned now by the wall she built to protect herself. She wanted out. She wanted to feel again.

"Fear is still a feeling," Maggie tried to comfort her.

"But I don't want it to be the only one I have," Emyli answered promptly. Then suddenly she remembered Carl; what she told him about the way of knowing you still have your heart…. "Maggie, ask me about my happiest memory."

The girl was weird; it didn't take Maggie this long to learn that about Emyli. But she had also discerned that she's a product of her past and that her weirdness was not a bad thing. "Okay, what is your happiest memory?"

Emyli thought hard. In her mind she flipped the book of her memory, stopping at potential answers only to realize that every instance she felt happy was connected to Kate. She flipped and flipped, trying hard to find something that was her own, but there was nothing…until she reached the page of her most recent recollections.

"When we played truth or dare," Emyli said, slowly, as she played the memory in her head. "When I was with Daryl, hunting in the woods." Her heart swelled as she remembered. It's a wonderful feeling to feel something again. It made her smile.

Maggie was grinning at her. "So it was with Daryl," she noted. "Are you gonna speak to him now?"

Emyli's shoulders fell, her smile gone. "I don't know," she said. "I…I think I'm still a little scared of him. And…I think he's angry at me. He heard me comparing him to my dog. It's the reason he ran away after giving the raccoon."

Maggie pouted. "Was the comparison that bad?" she asked.

"To him, maybe," Emyli said. "But I loved that dog…."

"Eat this," Maggie pushed the plate. "Before it goes cold. You don't have to feel every emotion now. You had the right to be scared of him. And you should not feel bad comparing someone to something you loved."

Emyli took Maggie's words and ate the raccoon meat. It tasted as good as it looked.

"And Emyli," Maggie added, "you might see yourself as insensitive but…you're actually very considerate."

She snorted. "Sorry, first time someone told me that. Here," Emyli pushed the plate to Maggie. "It's very good."

Maggie took a slice to her mouth, frowned a little and said, "salty,"

* * *

Emyli regained the feeling of purpose after talking to Maggie. She's determined to help Dale—never mind if it's not out of compassion. It was almost sunset and after she's done eating the meat, she went out and met Dale at the side of the house.

"How did it go?" she asked him, but one look on his face would tell that he failed to convince anyone.

"Hopefully you did a little better," Dale said.

"Well, I was able to talk to some people and I realized something."

Dale was all ears.

"You said you trust my objectivity," Emyli said hurriedly, they didn't have much time. Dale nodded. "Well, here it is….

"There are three questions necessary to the matter of Randall's execution. Number one," Emyli showed her index finger. "Is Randall a threat?" She paused and waited for Dale's response. He nodded his head. "I believe the answer is a unanimous yes."

"Number two," Emyli made a peace sign. "Do we kill a person we consider as threat? This is where it gets tricky. If people are asked between two extreme choices like yes or no, they tend to stay on the middle ground. Do we kill or save Randall? They will either say I don't know or leave me out. Or go with the majority, or not speak up at all. So I figured, what we need to do is pull the triggers that will make them involved. I can take care of that.

"Number three, and the most important question," Emyli put out her thumb, "do we kill Randall? Because if Randall is a threat and we don't know if we should kill someone we consider as threat, then what do we do with him?" She put her hand down and looked firmly at Dale. "You need to come up with a viable alternative to execution. We can push them to speak up and decide for themselves but without an alternative, everything crumbles and Randall gets killed."

She watched Dale's eyes rolled upwards and sideways, his face contorted to a worried look. After a few seconds, he turned at the young girl. "Thank you, Emyli," Dale said, smiling. "I think we got this."

Several minutes after, the group started their way to the house. Rick and Lori were at the porch waiting for everyone. Emyli walked with Dale. She's a few steps from the house when she felt Carl running from behind. Emyli turned and looked and eyed the mud stains on his pants. She tried to catch the kid's eyes but Carl averted her gaze.

"Come on, Carl, I want you to stay with Jimmy," Lori said, ushering her son.

"But I wanna listen."

"Not this time."

Everyone gathered in the living room looking miserable. Hershel, Maggie and Patricia were sitting on the sofa; Shane, Andrea and T-Dog were standing nearby. Carol and Lori were leaning on the door. Glenn sat on the piano bench while Dale stood adjacent and Emyli was beside him. Rick was between Lori and Glenn, the focal point of the circle. And behind him, several feet away, was Daryl.

The fragile air was creased by Carl's presence. All heads turned to his direction. And when it seemed like he will not budge, Emyli stepped and walked towards him.

"Come on, Carl," she said. Emyli put her hand on Carl's shoulder and she walked him to the other room.

"I'm sorry they are not allowing you to join," she told Carl after hunching and putting her palms on her half-bended knees so they were seeing each other, eye to eye. "But you can tell me what you think. I'll voice it out for you."

Carl was still averting her eyes until he answered her: "I think we should kill him."

Emyli stood straight, taken aback—not so much with his answer but more on the way it was delivered: Carl had responded instantly and with conviction.

"Why?"

"Cause that's what we do to survive. Just like how we kill walkers."

"No, Carl. Walkers are different. We kill them cause there's no other way to deal with them. But we can still look for another way for Randall."

"There is none."

"How can you be so sure about that?"

"How were we so sure about the walkers? We kill them because there's no cure. But how sure are we that there won't really be a cure?"

Emyli pursed her lips and averted Carl's eyes.

"I guess I was sure about Randall the same way we were sure that there's no cure for walkers." Carl turned his back, went to the room and closed the door.

Emyli thought another person's developing his own objectivity.

* * *

Daryl's anger subsided already but it didn't mean it's gone. He rested his arm on the cabinet as they waited for Emyli to go back. When she did, she walked past him silently and returned to Dale's side, moving a few steps behind him. So she's with him on this, he thought, this is not gonna be easy for her.

"So how do we do this?" Glenn broke the silence. "Just…take a vote?"

"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea asked.

Lori suggested: "How about majority rules?"

"Well, let's—let's just see where everybody stands," Rick said, "Then we can talk through the options."

It's Shane who first announced his verdict; it's to no one's surprise that he wanted Randall executed.

"If people believe we should spare Randall," Rick looked at everyone, "I wanna know."

Dale spoke: "Well, I can tell you it's a small group." He looked around. "Maybe just me and Emyli and Glenn."

Glenn looked uncomfortably at Dale. The latter discerned what that look meant, and he couldn't believe it.

"Look I—," Glenn started, "—I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time. But this—"

"They've got you scared!" Dale said, frustrated.

"He's not one of us," Glenn reasoned. "And we've lost too many people already."

"It sounds awfully wrong if not being one of us is the reason we kill someone." It was Emyli who spoke with her flat voice and nonchalant tone.

"Not awfully wrong when you add thirty men and big guns to the equation," Shane replied coolly and mockingly.

Shane and Emyli eyed each other.

"How about you," Dale turned to Maggie, "do you agree with this?"

Maggie bowed her head and kept her silence.

"How about you?" Dale asked looking at Lori who also looked down and focused on pinching her collarbone.

"Look, if we keep this any longer," Shane argued, "we let our guard down, he runs off, brings back his thirty men."

"So the answer is to kill him?" Dale asked him, disgusted. "To prevent a crime he may never even attempt? If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization."

"Oh my god," Shane muttered wearily.

"This is a young man's life!" Dale told everyone. "And it is worth more than just a five-minute conversation."

Emyli stepped forward; small and with expression-less face but determined eyes. "Rick, I think we must make each and every one speak and share what's on their mind." She let her eyes roam to look at every person—only avoiding Daryl—and said: "We can't afford more than half of us being just bystanders. Or perhaps…let's just have them join Carl, Beth and Jimmy in the other room."

The group twitched uncomfortably, but Daryl, just inside his mind, chuckled at Emyli's words. She's got spunk.

Rick nodded at Emyli. "T-Dog. Got anything to say?"

All eyes shifted to him. T-Dog paused awkwardly then cleared his throat. "Well, he is a threat," he told the group. "We let him go or we let him join us, either way, there's no assurance he won't run away and bring his troop here."

Shane, Glenn and Maggie nodded to that—which gave T-Dog the push to continue.

"He ain't related to us in anyway," he said with a louder voice, "betrayal is very likely."

"And your vote is?" Emyli asked him.

T-Dog sighed. "We need to eliminate the threat."

"Thank you," Rick said then he turned to Maggie.

Maggie bit her nail nervously then shook her head. "I-I can't decide yet…."

"Patricia?"

Her response was worse than Maggie's. She buried her face on her palm and sobbed.

"Carol?"

It's obvious she's dreading her name to be called. But when it was, she tried to sound steady and firm.

"I've been thinking," she told Rick in a mocking tone. "What's the difference of leaving him for the walkers and bringing him here for us to judge and execute?"

"Carol," Lori tried to stop her. But it's too late, Carol added: "You're putting blood on our hands."

"She's right," Andrea said. "We wouldn't be here like this if this stranger was left behind. His group tried to kill you and his own people left him for dead. That should have been enough evidence for what kind of people they are."

Rick held on tightly to the top of a chair with a hardened expression, unable to answer for himself.

"Don't blame him."

Daryl had to raise his head again and looked for the source of the voice. It's Emyli again.

"This is not for him to decide alone," she said with conviction. "That's what it means to be in a group. I might not have been here for a long time, but if Rick was your leader, I believe he had led you out of trouble a lot of times." She looked around. "You're still here, that means you weren't left behind. So we don't leave him alone now. Let's not blame anyone. We just need everyone to speak up regarding the issue. Do it as an obligation to the group. Failure to do so makes you the team's liability."

"Whoa," Shane cajoled. "Dale, you've got yourself a nice attorney for the defense."

"Shu' up, Shane." Daryl was unable to stop himself. Emyli was surprised at his sudden interruption and she had to look to him. Daryl threw a gaze at her as well and for a split second, their eyes met.

"Tell you what, girl," Shane continued ignoring Daryl's warning. Emyli replaced her eyes to Shane. "These people are scared. And if they decide to spare Randall because of you, and his men arrive here and slaughter us, blood's gonna be on yours," he pointed at Emyli and then at Dale, "and his hands."

"I said shu' up!" Daryl snapped at Shane with ferocity in his voice.

Rick prepared himself to stop Daryl from getting to Shane. Shane paused then raised his hands as if surrendering, but he had a sneer on his face.

"I don't think we should kill him." The group's eyes shifted to the direction where the voice came from. The squeaky voice came from Patricia. She bowed her head when everyone's eyes were on her. But she continued speaking. "T-he world might have changed but it's one of the basic rules that must still apply…." She bit her lip and tried to think hard. "B-but I can't think of what to do with him."

Maggie nodded on that. "Killing Randall doesn't sound right," she said but unable to continue. Then she asked, "if we go through with killing him, how will we do it? Will he suffer?"

"We could hang him," Shane answered. "Right?" he asked Rick. "Just snap his neck."

"I thought about that," Rick pondered. "Shooting may be more humane."

Silence and uncomfortable twitching.

"What about the body?" T-Dog asked awkwardly. "Do we bury him—"

"Hold on, hold on!" Dale exclaimed. "You're talking about this like it's already decided."

"We've been talkin' all day goin' 'round in circles," Daryl said impatiently, pacing on where he stood. "You jus' wanna go around in circles again?"

"If that's what it'll take to come up with a better solution, then yes."

It was Emyli. Daryl rubbed his lower cheek with his palm. She's looking at him now and he's looking back.

"If we're gonna do it—if we're gonna kill Randall, all other options must be exhausted first," Emyli told the group. Her face still expressionless but her eyes were determined and piercing. "Isn't that right, Andrea?" she asked her. "Guilty should be beyond reasonable doubt. If there's even a pinch of possibility for another way, we should not resort to killing him."

Andrea pondered on that. Then she nodded. "She's right," she said, "we should try to find another way."

"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?" Maggie asked.

"Just another mouth to feed," Daryl argued coolly still staring at Emyli who's looking at something else now.

"It may be a lean winter," Hershel offered.

"We could ration better," Lori said, hopeful.

"Well, he could be an asset!" Dale suggested. "Give him a chance to prove himself."

"Put him to work?" Glenn said.

Rick dismissed the idea. "We're not letting him walk around."

"We could put an escort on him," T-Dog said.

"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane mocked.

"I will," Dale and Emyli answered in unison.

"I don't think any of us should be walkin' around with this guy," Daryl contended immediately.

"I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up," Lori added.

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labor," Andrea said.

"Could you drive him further out?" Hershel asked. "Leave him like you planned."

Lori was quick to answer. "You barely came back this time. There are walkers, you could break down. Y-you could get lost."

"Or get ambushed," Daryl added.

"They're right, we should not put our own people at risk," Glenn agreed.

Silence.

"We all know what needs to be done," Shane whispered but enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Rick exhaled. "Anybody who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance."

People bit their lips, sighed, covered their mouths, paced, took their seats, but no one spoke.

"Is this what it's comes to?" Dale asked. "We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? How are we any better than those people we're so afraid of?"

No one still wanted to speak.

"Randall is a threat because he might bring his army here, right?" Emyli said. "Well killing him does not actually prevent these men coming here—but let's just pretend for a moment that it would. How about the walkers? How about _other_ groups? What's keeping them from overrunning this farm? Are we gonna kill Randall so we can play house and pretend this will last forever?"

People raised their heads.

"I think what we should be doing, instead of this mock trial, is fortifying this farm," Emyli added. "Or scouting the area for better settlement. Put Randall to work and make him realize his best chance is with us."

"You're right," Shane said surprising everyone. "Our number one priority is our safety. We must fortify this farm but before we do that…we should eliminate Randall because letting him live is like leaving a hole on our defense wall."

That got nods from the group.

"You once said that we don't kill the living," Dale pointed out to Rick.

"Well that was before the living tried to kill us."

"This new world is ugly," Dale tried to appeal to the group. "It's… harsh. I-it's survival of the fittest! That's the world I don't wanna live in. And I don't—I don't believe that any of you do. I can't!"

No one wanted to look at Dale.

"Please. Let's just do what's right," Dale looked around but still no response. "Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with us?"

No one.

"Look—"

"No, Emyli," Dale cut her off. He let a deep breath out. "It's okay. This is hopeless." He turned to the group. "Are you all gonna watch too?" he asked, mocking and teary-eyed. "No, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget we're slaughtering a human being…. Whoa. We won't be a party to it."

He nodded to Emyli and she followed him on the way outside the house.

"This group is broken," Dale told Daryl. Emyli walked past him without word.

* * *

Emyli walked behind Dale. She followed him to the RV. He was taking some of the things inside the vehicle and putting them inside Rick's tent.

"What are you doing?" Emyli asked him.

He didn't stop nor look at her. "I told Shane I'm not going anywhere," he said with a shaky voice he's trying to steady. "But after this, I don't think I can stay here."

"You're leaving," Emyli surmised. Dale didn't answer and sat on the driver's seat.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

* * *

**Next chapter: **M.A.E Flowers in action.

* * *

**Writer's Note:**

I know…this is a long overdue update and I'm sorry.

I was held-up by two robbers a few days ago; my bag was taken and inside was my laptop L. I had to re-write this chapter because of that.

Anyway, I'd like to thank you for staying with me.

**EXPECT NEXT CHAPTER TO BE ACTION-FILLED.** Whohoo! I'm been wanting to write this one for a long time. I'm so glad we're finally getting there!

I'd like to send my hugs to the following readers who **followed **Walk with Me:

**_PrincessxXxDarkness, SabakuNoGaara426, mlcddt_**

…and my love to the following who put Walk with Me on their **favourite** list:

**_Amberofthemoment, PrincessxXxDarkness, sammie23-3_**

And of course, to the wonderful readers who left us a** review**, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

**_NormanReedusBitch_**: Aww, thank you so much for leaving me your remarks about what you liked about Walk with Me. I kinda like Beowulf for Emyli's dog's name. The drawing scene is one of my favorites as well and I'm so glad you found it "sensual"—that's what I was going for. Thank you so much again.

**_FucshiaGrasshopper: _**Wow! I think this is the first time someone's comment is directed to Emyli and it makes me happy that you see her as someone with "full of heart" despite her being stoic and all. And yes, yes, I will continue. Hoping to give updates regularly every week. Thank you so much for seeing through Emyli.

**_The Walkin Dude:_** Thank you so much for being a constant reader. Nothing makes a writer happy more than knowing that someone out there is reading his/her work and enjoying it. Thank you.


	14. Chapter 11 - Better Angels

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Dale asked for Emyli's help in talking to everyone regarding Randall's execution. But despite their efforts, the group's final decision was still to kill him. Dale, because of disappointment, decided to leave the group.

* * *

Chapter 11:** BETTER ANGELS**

* * *

Everyone stayed in the living room. Rick, Shane and Daryl were the ones who went out for Randall. No one wanted to talk and no one wanted to look at anyone; they seemed to be too busy convincing themselves that this was the right choice, or that this wasn't really happening.

Andrea suddenly had to raise her head as she noticed movements from across the living room. Someone was moving stealthily, going inside one of the bedrooms. She stood up and went to that direction. There's no one in the hallway. Andrea went for the door and opened it.

"Emyli?"

She found her rummaging through her backpack. Emyli looked at Andrea only to return to what she's doing after a split-second that their eyes met.

"What are you doing?" Andrea asked, worried.

"Dale left the group," she said coolly as she unloaded stuffs from her bag: chocolate bars, clothes, medicines…shampoo?

"What?"

"I was to join him to make sure he comes back," Emyli explained, "he told me to pick up my things but when I returned, he's not there anymore. Gone with his RV."

Pick up her things…Andrea surmised Dale used her naivety to get away.

"I'll follow him," Emyli announced. "I'll just get these stuffs off so I can run with a lighter bag."

"W-what!?" Andrea repeated, her head spinning.

"I don't know how to drive," the smaller girl tried to explain. She zipped the bag, stood up and put it on her. "Don't worry, I run fast."

"No!" Andrea stopped her from reaching the door. "That's not what I meant," she shook her head. "You can't go alone! Dale left, they need to know. Surely Rick and the others noticed the RV's missing."

"I doubt it," Emyli said casually. "They're gonna execute someone. I don't think their minds can give room to anything else. They didn't notice the RV. And these people? They've been in too much distress already—"

"That's why you're going alone?" Andrea asked unbelievingly. "You haven't been in the group for a month." She told her firmly. "You take too much responsibility. Are you trying to be a hero or something?"

Emyli stared at Andrea for a while. The brunette shook her head and looked down.

"I'm just…trying to care…."

Andrea sighed. "Silly Lily." She stepped toward her and tapped her shoulder. "I'm coming with you," she said, smiling. "I know where Shane's car key is. We'll be faster on wheels."

Emyli nodded. Two girls went for the door, ready to sneak silently out of the house.

"Going without me?" Maggie asked them, the moment they opened the door. She was leaning on the wall and obviously had been eavesdropping.

* * *

Maggie, Andrea and Emyli went out of the house unnoticed. The boys were nowhere in sight as well; probably in the barn with Randall already. Andrea went to Shane's tent to get the car key. Maggie and Emyli picked weapons up; they thought they needed at least two sets each. Maggie had her own gun and picked up a machete. Emyli had her two black, combat bowie knives loaded in her knife sheath held together to both sides of her waist by a belt; she wanted to bring an axe but the weight was too much for her, so she settled for a lighter pickaxe. Andrea also had a hand gun and they brought a small scythe for her.

They met in front of Shane's green Tucson. Andrea took the driver's seat and Emyli the passenger's. Maggie's on the back seat. Andrea started the car, lucky it's parked away from the house, and hopefully no one would hear them. Hopefully they would get back before anyone notice they were gone. Hopefully.

The three girls remained silent as they drove away from the farm, holding their weapons and their breaths. No one wanted to speak as the car's engine camouflaged the sound of their pounding hearts. The road was dark and suspiciously silent. At last Maggie spoke: "Should we change our name now to Dale's Angels?"

The three girls laughed; the tension in the air now gone.

"Where do you think he went?" asked Maggie on a serious note.

"With his present state of mind, nowhere," Emyli answered instantly. "He probably will just drive aimlessly."

"So we're sticking to big roads," Andrea announced.

"He shouldn't be far ahead," Emyli added.

They met their first walker a several kilometers after, a woman crossing the streets who walked toward the car when she noticed the lights. Andrea swerved; Emyli opened her window and killed the walker with her knife and half her body out of the car.

"We gotta kill them when we have the chance," she explained.

They drove on with peeled eyes, sensitive to any signs of Dale on the road.

"Oh my god, is that his RV?" Andrea exclaimed. And indeed the vehicle could be seen several meters ahead: unmoving and surrounded by at least five walkers just walking without direction. "Oh no…no. It can't be."

"No," Emyli said firmly. "They don't look like feasting to me. Dale must have gotten away."

They stopped the car near the RV. The walkers immediately went for them. Maggie, Andrea and Emyli got off the car and attacked. Emyli swung her pickaxe and plunged it to a walker's head, the blood spluttering indiscriminately. Andrea slashed sideways with her scythe catching her geek on the cheek, upwards with the end of the blade peeking on the top of its head. Maggie took down two walkers at once: she kicked a walker with her boot, square on its chest. The walker fell down, on top of another who was behind it. Maggie stepped on top of the two struggling walkers, pinning them down then she immediately drove her machete to their foreheads before they could squirm out of her.

"That was cool," Andrea commented and did the same to the last walker.

Maggie, Andrea and Emyli stood on the road, catching their breath and each other's eyes.

"I wish it will always be easy like that," Maggie remarked.

"It won't be as fun," Andrea said weakly.

The three girls went inside the RV knowing they won't see Dale.

"Everything's intact," Andrea observed.

"The key is gone," Maggie called from the vehicle's front side. "What do you think happened?"

"He might have met a herd," Emyli hypothesized. "That's the only thing I can think of that will make him leave the RV."

"Dale must have escaped knowing staying inside would mean getting trapped with walkers surrounding and pounding on the vehicle," Andrea agreed.

"Better chance on the run," Maggie added.

They got off the RV.

"If he ran, it must be to that direction," Maggie pointed to the field on the side of the road.

"That leads to the village," Andrea said looking at Emyli. It's the same village where Emyli sneaked out of the Tucson before to return to her aunt's dairy.

"Let's go," Emyli ran back to the car.

Andrea drove the car off the road and to the village's direction. As luck would have it, walkers were also going for the same direction. They pass by more and more of them as they get near the village.

"This is not looking good," said Maggie eying the walking corpses who one by one started to chase the car, her grip tightened on the machete.

"_Very_ not looking good," Andrea agreed supressing her fear. "The last time Shane and I were in this village, we were surrounded."

"The village must be infested already," Emyli said. "Plus the walkers that chased Dale there. I think we should park the car at the village's entrance."

"What?" Maggie said aghast. "And go house to house on foot?"

"Better than us in the car getting swarmed by these strutters," Emyli contested. "The car's noise attracts them. If the village is infected, we'll get cornered even before we could get off to knock on the first house."

Andrea nodded, "Lily's right, Maggie."

"If you say so," she said in resignation. "Just wished I wore long-sleeved top like you two."

Andrea and Emyli eyed her sleeveless blouse.

* * *

Andrea stopped the car just before the residential area. It's dangerously out in the open; no trees to hide their get-away vehicle. And their dead friends had caught up as well. The three girls went out of the car and put distance from it to veer the walkers away from the Tucson.

"I won't go house to house blindly," Maggie announced, bracing herself as a group of four geeks closed in on them, "would you?"

"Not if I have choice," Andrea answered securing her gun in her pocket and then fixing her grip on the scythe.

"Can you hold out for a while?" Emyli asked. "I'll provide visuals of the village so we'll know where to head."

"Whatever you do, do it fast," Maggie said before she ran and plummeted her weapon to a dead man's head.

Emyli did not waste a second and ran. She met a few corpses on the way but she just outran then for the meantime. She ran fast with her feather-weight steps. Her eyes were as fast, surveying the surroundings and taking everything in.

The signage preceding the village bore its name and words scrawled in blood: "Better Angels." Emyli ran along and when she reached the village, the first thing that greeted her was the sight of walkers lingering and loitering on the streets, thick as thieves.

She bit her lip and thought: she should have just gone alone. This was a suicide mission and she brought Maggie and Andrea.

Emyli was about to run back when her eyes caught a glimpse of something. She looked back instantly and tried to scan the area where she found the thing. Then she saw it: on the pavement just in front of the third house was Dale's hat.

With her pounding heart, Emyli ran back. Her pickaxe was now peeking from her backpack. She unsheathed her two knives and held them with blades facing downwards. She figured they're easier to use: they're lighter, easier to swing, took less time to pull from walker brains—she tried to ignore the fact that she still hated killing them so closely.

She found Maggie and Andrea struggling against the corpses. They're significantly outnumbered now and more were coming from the road's direction.

"We can turn back now while we still have time and space," Maggie told Andrea before pushing a walker trying to grab her.

"I saw Dale's hat! He's definitely here," Emyli called panting. The two other girls only had a split second to look at her before giving their attention back to the corpses. Emyli, too had to use her knives now as walkers were drawn by her voice. "I'll go to the village alone. Get in the car and try to find a way to the other side of the village—" she pulled her knife from a dead's head and turned around to see more coming from that side. "I'll be waiting for you in one of the house's backyard."

"No way you're going there alone!" Andrea screamed—breathing and stepping back to get away from a walker for a few seconds. "Maggie!" Maggie looked and caught the car key from Andrea by reflex. "Take the car and drive it to the other side of the village."

"What!?" she asked not sure of what she heard, not sure which among the walkers to kill first and not sure if they could make it out alive. "You're gonna leave me alone!?"

"No," Andrea said firmly as she made her way toward Emyli. "_You_ are gonna leave us alone. Drive the car and fetch us from the other side."

"Shit," Maggie mouthed, seeing she had no choice but to oblige. Andrea already took off with Emyli running to the village's direction with half of the walker crowd chasing them. Maggie went for the car being tailed by geeks as well. She shut the door once she's in and drove to the opposite direction crying tearlessly.

The smell of blood and the sight of walking corpses behind and in front were just too much for Maggie. She didn't expect and certainly was not ready for this. She slapped her cheek. She needed to do this. Andrea and Emyli were counting on her. It's gonna be up to her if they're gonna get out of this nightmare in one piece.

She drove fast, back to the road to escape the chasing walkers. But she knew that would not do. If she would go for it in full speed she might arrive in the village too soon. She needed to give enough time for Andrea and Emyli to look for Dale—but she must not be late as well. Oh, this was tricky. Her head ached and her hands shook as she steered the wheel with one and gripped her gun with the other. Maggie Greene, this is not the time to panic, she told herself. You have every reason to but you should not—

Maggie did not finish her speech to herself. She had to step on the break. Hard. Causing her to bump her head on the steering wheel. Lucky she didn't lose consciousness. But she almost did when she got a better look on what's ahead: a herd of walkers—startled like a bevy of deer caught in the headlights. Only, the geeks recovered too fast at the sight of the Tucson and started to run towards food.

* * *

Andrea and Emyli ran to the village with a bandwagon of walkers behind them.

"There!" Emyli told Andrea as she pointed Dale's hat on the ground. "Third house. C'mon!"

"How are we gonna get past all of them!?" Andrea screamed as the village corpses started to sense their presence and rushed towards them. In a few seconds they would be utterly surrounded.

"With fast feet and our weapons," Emyli replied. Even in that situation, she could still keep a blank face. "I'll open the door. You cover me."

Emyli hurried to the third house and Andrea followed her. The smaller girl picked the hat up and pocketed it as she reached the house. She put her knives to the sheaths on her belt then pulled the pickaxe from her backpack. The blonde took a stand behind Emyli and started hacking walkers closing in on them.

"Hurry...Emyli," chanted Andrea in between slashing and kicking walkers away.

Axe the door or axe the window? Their problem now was opening the door, but axe it, the problem after would be closing it. Emyli chose the window. She smashed one side with the axe then opened the door through the crack; the shards wounding her arm.

"Andrea!" she called motioning to the open door—having to push away a walker coming from her side.

The blond girl slashed one more geek then dashed for the door. Emyli quickly followed. Together they slammed the door as walkers pounded on it and groaned and moaned outside. Emyli saw a tall cabinet in the corner and quickly pushed it to cover the door and window. Andrea made sure first that the entrance would not give in despite the banging of corpses before she went to Emyli's side to help with the cabinet. Catching their breath, they continued to barricade the door with other furniture.

"It won't hold for long," Andrea said, still panting.

"Perfect," Emyli said putting back the pickaxe inside her backpack; she unsheathed her two black knives again. "We don't plan on staying for long."

"Right," Andrea uttered and she put her gun in one hand and scythe in the other. She followed Emyli and together they surveyed each area of the house.

"Dale!" Emyli softly called. They reached the kitchen—it was only then that the foul smell hit them. The house was dark but even without light, they could tell by the stench and by how shadows fell that it's full of unmoving dead bodies—and scattered organs.

"Not a place to hide for me." Andrea remarked putting the hand with the gun below her nose to cover it. "This feels like a butcher shop more than a kitchen."

"Perhaps it really was," Emyli whispered. She didn't put out her weapons and stepped into the area and continued to search. "If you're hiding from the dead, this is the perfect place to hide," she said. "They get turned off by their own smell you know."

But Dale was not there.

The banging on the door became louder now accompanied by nails raking the entrance. Andrea and Emyli cautiously approached the second floor. The stairs creaked and cried but they still were able to pick up the moaning sounds coming from upstairs. The girls stopped midway.

"No," Andrea muttered shaking her head with a scared look. "Now I don't wanna find Dale. I don't want that to be him."

Emyli looked at her with a stern face then stepped and resumed climbing the stairs. "Hope for the best but expect the worst," she chanted coolly. "Anyway, we didn't see any blood trail outside."

Andrea noted that the smaller girl couldd really detach herself sometimes—so much that it's unnerving. She followed her anyway.

The hallway was dark and they couldn't make out how many rooms there were. The moans and groans continued accompanied by scraping and scratching. The sounds were coming from the end of the hall. Emyli led the way, not seeing but _feeling_ in the dark. The air was loaded and heavy. Her feeling told her they had at least two coming their way-only, the geeks weren't _on _their way. Most probably, they were inside one of the rooms.

"Dale," Andrea called desperately. Emyli shushed her and pointed the room at the far end of the hallway. They walked closer to the door and it became obvious that the sounds were coming from inside.

They nodded to each other silently, gripping their weapons. Andrea turned the knob and pushed it and aimed with her gun.

A pair of dangling legs and feet greeted them.

Both girls looked up. The legs belonged to a topless burly walker hanging by a noose from the ceiling. It turned violent when it saw Andrea and Emyli. It extended its arms downwards; frustrated that they're far below. It twitched and turned making gurgling sounds.

"Sick," Andrea groaned taking her eyes away from the hanging geek.

Then Andrea and Emyli jumped when another sound came to their attention: breathing sounds—heavy and labored. It's accompanied by sound of nails scratching the wooden floor.

"Dale?" Andrea called again.

Emyli made her way inside the room, walking past the human-chime, knives ready, pointing outwards. The moonbeam was shining through the window giving them enough light to see. The room was spacious and full of broken furniture scattered on the floor. When she and Andrea saw the bedroom at the corner, the sight sent shivers to their spine.

There was a young girl below the bed. From where they were standing, they could only see her bony face. Her eyes were bloodshot and her mouth was stained by blood. She's the one making the scratching noise with her fingernails.

Emyli was about to charge to the bed's direction but Andrea raised her arm to stop her. "Wait! I-is she a walker?" she asked.

"Mama!" the girl from below the bed cried before Emyli could answer; her hand outstretched and her voice, pleading. "Mama! Mama!" The girl made grasping motion with her hand. It's then that they noticed her bloody thumb looking gnawed on.

"Oh my god," Andrea moaned and waked hurriedly towards the kid's direction. "What in the world happened here?"

"Andrea, careful!" Emyli warned and closely followed the blonde.

Andrea kneeled in a couple of feet away from the bed. She wanted to study the kid closer and figure out what she was

The girl under the bed imitated the gurgling sound when Andrea got closer. She twitched and turned as if she's stuck there. She reached with her other arm, "Mama! Mama!" and Andrea had to step back at the sight of the kid's hand, stained by dried blood. A closer look also told her that the kid was skin and bones: starved and dehydrated.

"She's…eating herself," Emyli remarked eying the girl's chewed fingertips.

"She's not a walker," Andrea declared, looking up to Emyli from where she's kneeling. Emyli did not look convinced. "Walkers don't speak! And her eyes…look at it closer—"

"Andrea!"

The kid was able to free and move and lift half of her body from under the bed and bit Andrea's hand.

* * *

Maggie had acted swiftly; she maneuvered the Tucson to turn where she came from. There were fewer walkers in that direction, there's enough space for her to get through.

Left, Right. Then right again. Left. Maggie chanted to herself. She had zone herself out completely and drove back focusing only on the spaces between the groups of walker where she must pass through. It had saved herself by keeping her panic at bay.

Most of the walkers were left behind; the ones she met on her way back would tail her then get left behind as well. But the road was full of loitering walkers that there's always a group chasing her.

She's now nearing the spot where they separated earlier, her panic cure now wearing off as she rummaged through her mind on how she could fetch Andrea and Emyli through the sea of geeks in the village. Maggie was about to cry again but hardened her face as she thought of her daddy and Beth and Glenn. She scanned the area ahead, not stopping the Tucson. Then she slipped out of the zone again.

Maggie drove to the village. She did not head for the house where she thought Andrea and Emyli were. Instead, she drove away from it honking the horn, inviting the walkers to a parade. And she made quite a following: she got the attention of the gang of geeks gathering in houses' front yard and those loitering on the streets.

The important factor in her plan was that she should not be trapped front side; the walkers must stay behind as she gathered them to one side of the village. She repeated her tactic of driving through spaces between walker-groups, using her speed to bump off and run over those on her way. She's nearing the corner now. She waited for a few seconds, letting the geeks reach the spot as well. She kept an eye on her right side-her escape route. Most walkers had cleared the residential side in pursuit of the green Tucson. She decided it's time to turn and go back: She turned right back to the houses' direction-which right now contained fewer geeks.

Maggie's on her way now to the houses' backyard; she would have no problem getting there as she just needed to run over a few walkers. But would Andrea and Emyli be on time to ride the car? They might only have one chance at this as the walkers began to chase the Tucson again and the spaces between them for the car to pass through kept getting smaller and smaller.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Emyli asked Andrea with narrowed eyes as she lowered herself beside the blonde; Andrea's covering her bitten hand with the other hand. Together, their stares returned to the kid stuck under the bed.

"Mama! Mama!" the girl continued to cry as she tried to reach them with her grasping fingers.

"She's still alive," Emyli whispered taking note of the life in the kid's eyes. "Let's pull her out—"

But before they could move, they heard screeching sound from below: sound of furniture being pushed and moved—and the pounding noise getting louder.

"The strutters are gonna break in soon," Emyli stood up and looked at the hall's direction.

"We can't just leave her here!" Andrea said, panicking. She stood up as well but returned her gaze to the young girl under the bed.

Emyli looked at Andrea with her blank face for a few seconds. "Put my bag on." The brunette moved quickly: she put her knives in their sheaths then she kneeled again as she took her bag off and rummaged through it. Emyli fished out two white handkerchiefs then left the bag with Andrea as she rushed towards the kid.

She put one handkerchief in between the girl's mouth and tied it at the back of her head. Then she used the other cloth to tie the kid's hands together, securing the knot between her wrists. Emyli was not met by submission but she was able to evade the girl's weak struggle stop her.

"I'll carry her," Andrea offered.

"No," Emyli answered promptly, not looking at Andrea as she's busy pulling the kid out of the bed by the shoulders. Turned out, she wasn't really stuck, she just couldn't move out because she had turned frail and weak. Emyli supposed the kid had been hiding there for weeks already.

"We'll need our hands," Emyli continued. She turned her back from the kid then put her head in the gap between the girl's tied hands. The brunette put her arm under the kid's buttocks to support her weight. Emyli stood up with the kid behind her who didn't actually weight much; she made bubbling sounds behind the cloth in her mouth.

Andrea stared at her with an amazed and panicked look on her face.

"I don't think Dale's here," Emyli said arming herself again with a knife in her free hand. "Lead the way. Let's try the other house."

Andrea nodded and started out of the room. The hanging walker squirmed after her. Andrea was already about to step on the stairs when she heard a loud thud behind her. When she looked back, Andrea's face contorted to a horrified look. "Emyli!" she screamed.

The beefy geek hanging from the ceiling had fallen after Emyli and the kid walked out of the room; it was lying on top of Emyli's back trapping her and the kid under. The walker instantly took a bite out of the kid's bony shoulder removing a chunk of flesh out of her. The kid let out a low painful cry.

Andrea aimed with her gun with shaking hands. Emyli tried to squeeze herself out but the walker won't budge on his place enjoying eating the skinny, little girl. Blood from the kid splattered on Emyli's face.

A shot resounded. Andrea had taken down the walker with a bullet to the head. She ran back and pushed the geek aside. Emyli unslung the kid from her neck and stood up. They were yet to catch their breath when they heard a crash downstairs: The walkers had broken the door down.

Andrea and Emyli looked at each other, then at the little girl on the floor bleeding and crying soundlessly. There was no time to hesitate; they needed to get out of the house now if they didn't want to be trapped inside with a handful of walkers. Andrea sobbed and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. Emyli nodded and turned her back as Andrea shot the kid to the head.

They ran down the stairs. The geeks were already in the living room, walking and tripping on the furniture. The walkers turned violent at the sight of the two girls who hurried to the backdoor. The corpses chased after them; Andrea slashed a walker across the face when it tried to grab Emyli by her hair.

They were at the backyard. Emyli shut the door close; the geeks banged and scratched at it and would probably give in in no time. This street had its share of loitering walkers. When they heard the crashing sound from the house and when they saw the two girls, they started pursuing them. The blonde and the brunette hurried along the street, weapons out. Then they heard the sounds of horn and engine.

"That should be Maggie," Andrea panted, running beside Emyli.

"We must find Dale," Emyli said firmly. "Let's kill as much walker as we can…so our car won't get swarmed. He can be inside any of these houses."

Andrea frowned but she did not let Emyli see it. She's beginning to think twice about this mission. They were just too many walkers and so many houses as well. If they continue looking, they are gambling their chance of getting out of here in one piece.

"Oh my god," Andrea mouthed. Her eyes caught a single geek chomping on a dead body. Emyli stopped on her tracks as Andrea turned to the direction of that specific walker. The carcass had been ripped and eaten to unrecognizable state—but what stole her attention was the arm: still somewhat intact and wearing a wristwatch.

"I think we found Dale."

Andrea was about to kill the geek who was still busy consuming the dead meat—to check if she could still validate if the body was wearing Dale's clothes and to get the watch so they could bury it—when she heard Emyli scream.

The small girl was fighting a group of walkers who had caught up to them. Emyli had plunged her knives to both sides of a geek's head. She pulled the bloodied knives out then kicked a walker on her right side.

Andrea ran back to the spot beside Emyli, shooting a walker on her way. Andrea and Emyli stood back to back as they are attacked from all sides.

"Where's Maggie!?" Andrea screamed. "What's she doing making noise and driving around!?" She hacked a walker's head off and had to shoot another who came too close.

Emyli replied with her low but decisive voice. "Were going home," she said and continued slaughtering the walkers.

* * *

Maggie was already on the street where the houses' backyards were facing. There was a stream of walkers parading on the same direction she was heading. She revved the engine once more and knocked geeks down. After a few blocks, her heart swelled when she saw Andrea and Emyli fighting off the corpses that had surrounded them.

The farmer's daughter fired a shot through the open car window, killing one of the walkers cornering the two other girls. Andrea and Emyli fought their way out of the deadly circle using their weapons. The former got on the passenger's seat and the latter occupied the back seat.

Maggie's sobbing as she drove full speed out of the village. No one dared to speak until they reached the road.

"N-no Dale?" Maggie stammered.

Andrea shook her head, crying soundless tears. Maggie's sobbing became louder.

Emyli stayed silent as she stared blankly ahead.

* * *

**Next chapter: **The inevitable fall of the Greene Farm.

* * *

**Writer's Note:**

Whoa! That was fun to write. Please let me know what you think of this chapter. More action on the next chapter. Yey!

**_The farm falls already next chapter, do you think Daryl and Emyli will make up before it happens? Let me know what you think._**

As usual, I'd like to thank all of you guys who **reviewed, fave-d** and **followed** _Walk with Me._ My work is very stressful and nothing makes my day aside from seeing a notification from Fanfiction that someone has reviewed/faved/followed my story—so THANK YOU!

Thank you so much to these wonderful readers who **followed **_Walk with Me:_

**_Buckismith, Lilly72, TheGreatWhite, VealMaster, Wandrian, ishibby, necha, the golden fox_**

And to these lovely readers who **put **_Walk with Me_** on their favourite list:**

**_VealMaster, the golden fox_**

And most specially, my love and kisses to these amazing readers who left a **REVIEW:**

**_FuchsiaGrasshopper_**_:_ You actually made my day when you left a review a few minutes after I posted the last chapter. Hahah. Thank you so much. I'm really happy you find Emyli original and that you enjoy reading her thoughts and feelings. I actually spent several weeks thinking of what kind of girl is a good match for Daryl before I started writing this fic. I didn't want the typical badass girl or the funny, happy go lucky girl or the damsel in distress type for my OC. I wanted the challenge of making a dark, stoic and blunt character likeable—similar when Norman said that he was able to make a racist, redneck loveable. And I guess this chapter answers your bubble thought about Emyli being able to leave with Dale. Thank you so much again; your review was very insightful and it means a lot to me.

**_NormanReedusBitch: _**Wow, thank you so much for saying the last chapter was amazing—your review was amazing as well. Your thoughts about Emyli's possible future role in the group gave me an idea. Thank you so much as well as you included what you liked in the chapter; this helps me know what aspect/s of the chapter stirred the reader. That scene where Emyli tries to feel something for Daryl, I think, is peculiar for a Daryl/OC pairing since Emyli said in the end that she can't feel anything for Daryl aside from fear—I'm so glad you liked it and that it somehow triggered a reaction because it tells a lot about Emyli's character. You are a very perceptive reader and I thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.

**_Guest:_** Aww, it's frustrating when someone leaves a review and there's no way to properly address them. But still, thank you so much for dropping by and taking time to read and leave a review. I'm glad you loved Walk with Me.


	15. Chapter 12 - Beside the Dying Fire

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **M.A.E Flowers—Maggie, Andrea and Emyli tried to bring Dale back by following him to a village heavily infested by walkers. Andrea discovered an unrecognizable body (wearing the same wristwatch that Dale used to wear) being eaten by a walker.

* * *

Chapter 12:** BESIDE THE DYING FIRE**

* * *

Daryl was pacing back and forth. It had been about an hour already since Rick and Glenn went after the three missing girls; two hours since Daryl shot Jimmy after being discovered bitten by a walker and two and a half hours since Rick decided not to execute Randall due to Carl's interference.

It was Daryl who deducted that the girls followed Dale when they discovered them missing; he was sure it was Emyli who led the search and sneaked up on them. He wanted to look for the girls with Rick. He had tried to reason with him, saying he had tracked the silly girl before and he could find them in no time. But Rick wanted Daryl to stay in the farm not trusting Shane to be in complete control of the group while he's gone—not after Rick tapped out on Randall's execution and not after they discovered a walker had breached through the farm. And Rick, as usual, felt responsible for Dale's running away and made it his mission to bring him and the girls back.

"Rick and Glenn will find them," Carol tried to comfort Daryl but she too was in distress.

Everyone was on the field outside the house, silent and waiting—except for Hershel, Shane and T-Dog who were making sure the perimeter was secured. Carl was yet to calm down after seeing Jimmy got bitten; he had not left Lori's side. Beth and Patricia were sobbing side by side trying to comfort each other.

"Ye don't know how stubborn tha' silly girl can be," Daryl told Carol, "if they don't find Dale, there ain't no way Rick can bring 'er back 'ere."

"She's hard-headed," Carol agreed, "I think everyone saw that earlier." She looked at Daryl who's still looking ahead and chewing the insides of his cheeks. "Rick and Glenn will bring them all back," Carol repeated.

Fifteen more minutes passed and Daryl was ready to follow the search with his motorcycle when sounds of engines approached the farm.

It made Daryl wearier on his feet; his troubled prancing didn't stop until the blue pick-up truck stopped followed by the green Tucson.

Rick and Glenn alighted from the truck.

"Met them halfway on the road," Rick announced.

"The others?" Daryl asked Rick. Rick looked at the Tucson.

Maggie appeared, coming out of the car; Beth ran to her crying. Andrea and Emyli followed. The sight of blood on their faces and arms alerted Daryl. Emyli looked at him as she walked toward the group; her look was dead and vacant.

Daryl fidgeted and almost said a gentle "hey", but Emyli walked past him and went to Carol.

"What happened?" Carol frantically asked Emyli. She didn't reply and just stepped behind the older woman.

Hershel, Shane and T-Dog came running to the group; they probably heard the sounds of approaching cars.

It was T-Dog who asked the ultimate question: "Where's Dale?"

Rick and Glenn looked at each other both not wanting to be the one to answer the question. Maggie hugged Beth tighter and hid her face on her sister's shoulder. Emyli simply bowed her head.

Andrea sighed; she knew the burden had fallen on her. "He's dead," she said with shaky voice.

* * *

The next morning, the group was divided into two groups. The first group scouted the farm's perimeter to secure it and the second group prepared for two burials. Emyli wanted to do both but chose to be with the first—even if it meant being in the same group with Daryl.

Emyli was in trance, Daryl could see that. Shane and Andrea were inside the truck while Daryl shared the back part of the vehicle with T-Dog and Emyli. The girl had emotionally shut herself down and had locked herself in probably to escape from grief. Daryl thought this wasn't good at all.

They had to kill some walkers that got through the weaker parts of the fence. Daryl used his crossbow, Andrea a pitchfork, T-Dog a baseball bat and Shane a shovel. Emyli used her two black knives; she took every walker she killed through their eyes. Her moves were measured, like a robot programmed to kill. The knives were aimed upwards to the brain; Emyli did not miss a single mark with the walkers' eyes as her target. Soon, her long, black hair was sticking to her face and neck due to sweat. She was panting but she was still alert and ready as if she's out for blood.

Emyli continued to stab the last walker despite its brain being splattered on the grass already. Shane joined her and plummeted his shovel again and again on every part of the corpse's body.

"She prob'ly ain't hearin' or seein' us," Daryl mouthed with his raspy voice. He, T-Dog and Andrea observed the two as they tore the walker apart.

Andrea shook her head, "no," she said. "It's not her being numb. This is Emyli…grieving."

"Someone should seriously teach her how to cry," T-Dog commented.

"She needs to cool down." Daryl attempted to get close to her but Andrea stopped him knowing his interference could make it worse. "Let's just…let her be," she said.

Shane and Emyli eventually stopped and all of them went back to the house without saying a word.

* * *

Everyone gathered on the field not far from the house which was slowly becoming a yard for graves. They buried Jimmy's body; Hershel and T-Dog threw dirt over the body wrapped in a blanket. Emyli stepped forward and placed Dale's hat on the ground and she, Glenn and Andrea covered it with soil using their hands.

Rick made a powerful speech about Dale's and Jimmy's demise.

"We're not broken," Rick said, "we're gonna prove Dale wrong."

The group remained silent and all ears.

"From now on, we're gonna do it his way," Rick continued. "That is how we honor Dale."

* * *

Hershel asked the group to move into the house.

Everyone's busy lifting and carrying things. Emyli, Andrea and Carol were to occupy a bedroom with Beth. The others were gathering their things with Beth helping out. But since all Emyli had was her backpack which was already inside the room, she was alone setting aside some furniture to give way to another mattress they planned to put on the floor.

The door suddenly swung open.

"Emyli?"

It's Carl. He closed the door once he stepped inside.

"Sorry. Can we talk?" Carls asked.

Emyli stopped what she's doing and looked at the boy. She nodded and sat on the mattress. Carl sat beside her. Emyli waited for him to talk and it took a while.

"I'm the reason Jimmy's dead," the boy whispered with his head bowed. Emyli did not budge nor speak; she just let Carl continue on his own pace. "The walker that bit him...I saw it in the woods stuck in mud. But I threw rocks at it. I was gonna shoot it but..."

Carl took a deep breath. "It came off and I got scared." He looked at Emyli with guilty eyes. "If I killed it that time, Jimmy will still be alive."

Emyli just stared at the boy. Carl stared back. He was waiting for her to speak, to say something and she knew it. But she kept her silence and stern face. If the boy went to her just so he could be told that he should not blame himself then he would not be getting it from Emyli.

"A-aren't you gonna say something?" Carl finally broke the silence.

Emyli shook her head. "No," she muttered and averted the boy's eyes. "Not if you don't want my truth. Which will hurt."

"But I do!" Carl said in an instant. "I do... That's why I'm here."

Emyli breathed. "You were responsible," she decided to phrase it that way, looking directly at Carl, "you are part of the reason why Jimmy's dead." The boy looked down and cried silent tears he had been holding back.

Emyli put her hand on Carl's shoulder. She put weight on it to make him realize her next words should have more impact on him. "Part of the reason, Carl. But not entirely. Never entirely."

The boy paused for a moment to ponder on Emyli's words. He nodded after a few seconds as he wiped his tears with the back of his hand. Carl stood up and went for the door.

"You learned your lesson, right?" Emyli asked.

Carl nodded again and out he went.

* * *

It was easy sneaking without being noticed as everybody was doing something: fixing this, fixing that; talking and settling in. Emyli wanted to find her peace, even just for a moment so she set out to the field with her pencil and sketchpad. She walked past the demolished stone pillar and settled herself behind tall grasses.

She drew. Emyli filled the sheet with hard and heavy strokes.

Her heavy heart weighed inside her chest. She had wanted to feel again; to break the walls she had surrounded herself with. Now that she was hurting, she felt vulnerable. If this was how it would feel every time she would lose someone she had learned to care for, she wondered if breaking free was what she really wanted—if having her heart back meant gruelling pain.

She wished she had touched Dale's face. So she could draw him properly. So she could still see him somehow. She had the same regret with her sister, Kate. How many times they were so close to each other and all she had to do was reach and touch her face. But she didn't. And now all she could ever do was draw a rough, lifeless image of the people that had warmth her heart.

Emyli pulled the sheet from the pad crumpled the paper and threw it the farthest that she could. She blinked the rays of the setting sun.

Sunset: the night's prelude. Evening and darkness had always meant ghosts and monsters. Now, more than ever, this was the truth. And Emyli feared the sunset and the night that it would bring. It meant corpses coming back to life and snatching people away. Sunsets now meant people were going to die anytime soon.

And as if on cue, the shouts from the shed's direction echoed.

* * *

Randall was gone.

Rick had T-Dog ushered the group to the house while he, Shane, Daryl and Glenn went to the woods to look for the escaped prisoner. They bolted the doors and windows. Hershel and T-Dog guarded the door with guns slinging from their shoulders.

"Why do I have a feeling that this is trap?" Andrea asked Emyli. Both of them too worried to sit down.

"Perhaps it is," said Emyli.

Thirty minutes, then an hour passed. The group was gathered in the living room with fragile silence in the air. Everyone was trying to catch and avert each other's eyes; only Emyli was taking time staring at each of them and it wasn't long when she noticed that Carl was missing.

Emyli slipped quietly out of the living room and went upstairs to look for the boy. She's about to go back downstairs when Maggie and Andrea appeared from the shadows.

"I don't see Carl," Emyli whispered.

Andrea and Maggie exchanged looks.

"But he should be here," Maggie said in a near panic voice.

"He must have followed Rick and the others," Andrea surmised. "Let's look for him downstairs but do not alert the others just yet."

"Especially Lori," Maggie added. They started walking for the stairs.

The ladies did not have the chance to look for Carl as the moment they descended from the stairs, Daryl and Glenn arrived.

Daryl asked for Rick and Shane. He told the group they heard a shot.

"Maybe they found Randall," Lori suggested.

Daryl said _they_ have found Randall. As a walker—without any bite marks.

"His neck was broke," Daryl added.

Patricia surmised that Randall probably fought back. But Daryl explained about the tracks. Saying Randall's and Shane's were right on top of each other—which meant they were together.

"Would you please get back out there and find Rick and Shane," Lori pleaded Daryl, "and find out what on earth is going on?"

"You got it."

"Thank you."

Daryl went out to the porch. Glenn and Andrea followed him. The sight across the field wasn't pretty and it left them wide-eyed and speechless.

A huge herd of walkers was coming.

* * *

It was decided the herd wasn't just here to pass by. Maggie brought out a bag of guns. Daryl said it would be futile to make a stand looking at how many the geeks were. But Hershel insisted on being the farm's owner saying they could use the guns and cars.

"Kill as many as we can," Andrea agreed as she and the others armed themselves. "And we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm."

The group divided into two: one group stayed in the house and another went to the vehicles to shoot the walkers. Lori discovered that Carl was gone and panicked. Carol, Patricia and Beth helped her look for the boy inside the house. Hershel stood on guard in front of the porch. Daryl went solo with his motorcycle. Glenn and Maggie rode the green Tucson while T-Dog and Andrea took the blue pick-up with Emyli riding on the back.

The night of ghosts and monsters began.

They drove back and forth the field gunning down the approaching geeks. Emyli's heart pounded on her chest rivalling the noise and recoil of the shotgun. She was kneeling on the truck trying hard to keep herself steady every time T-Dog swerved or turned the truck around. She missed some walker heads but she bit her lips and took some time to aim to land clean shots.

They've been shooting for a while already when suddenly, the shed bursted into flames.

"Who can that be!?" Andrea shouted from the truck's window. Emyli could only guess.

"We'll run out of ammo before we even make a dent!" Glenn screamed as the truck and Tucson met. And it was true. They had been like shooting fishes in a tank but the wave of walkers just kept coming.

Walkers were everywhere now, trapping them from all sides.

"The strutters are closing in on the house," Emyli pointed. Indeed, they could see Hershel shooting geeks after geeks.

"We need to go," T-Dog silently said.

Their silence meant unanimous agreement.

"I'll take them out of the house. Clear a way and come back for us." With bag on her back and shotgun in hand, Emyli jumped from the truck before anyone could protest and ran the fastest she could toward the house.

"We'll take the walkers to a parade to make a way," Maggie declared thinking she and Glenn may be able to pull off the same feat she had done last night in the village.

Andrea nodded. "T, perhaps it's Rick or Shane who lit up the shed. They may be needing some help."

"Gotcha."

And with that, the truck went to the shed's direction and the Tucson made noises to attract the walkers to lead them off the farm.

* * *

Emyli hanged the shotgun from her shoulder. She ran to the house carrying her black knife. She only had to kill one walker who blocked her way; the rest were walking parallel to her.

She reached the porch. Carol was there telling Hershel that he needed to stop and mind Beth and Patricia's safety; but he continued to gun down walkers as if not hearing and seeing anything else.

"Where are the others?" Emyli asked, getting to the porch.

Carol was shaking. "B-Beth and Patricia are inside," she told her. "But Lori...she went away to look for Carl," she pointed to the direction away from the house.

"Okay," Emyli muttered looking firmly at Carol to somehow calm her. "Take Beth and Patricia. Get them ready. The truck or the Tucson will pick you up... I'll go after Lori."

Carol nodded and hurried to the house. Emyli ran away sheathing her knife and preparing the shotgun as she knew she'd need it when she reached the sea of walkers awaiting her.

Emyli stopped on her tracks a few meters from the geeks to gun down a few of them before running again. The shotgun was too heavy for her that she couldn't fire it properly while running. Her light feet did not give her much advantage as the corpses simply followed those who had caught sight of the small girl running amidst them. Never mind her footsteps were feather light; her agile movements and scent gave her away. Emyli was surrounded after just a few minutes.

"Shit, where's Lori?" Emyli muttered to herself, looking around for the woman but her view was covered by walkers in all directions. "Lori! Carl!" she called, knowing it will get her more walkers.

A painful scream resounded from the house's direction. Whose voice was it? Emyli looked but the walkers blocked her sight. Her heart did not stop pounding and the ringing in her ears began. Fear was taking over, planting her on her feet. She had never been this scared. Not when she, Kate and their dad were travelling from Maine to Georgia encountering the many different horrors of the walking plague. Not when she was wandering alone in the woods for almost a month. Not when she saved Daryl. And not when they went out looking for Dale.

What's so different now?

The corpses had trapped her in an almost circle. She used the shotgun to bring them down. Her vacant stare revealed nothing but her mind was thinking this may already be her end. There's no Kate to die for her. There's only Emyli and the pounding of her heart and the ringing in her ears.

Then suddenly she heard her name being screamed. A boy's voice. Carl's voice. It's not a cry for a help; it sounded like he's desperately trying to find her. It's coming from the house's direction.

Emyli blinked and her ears and feet came back to her. She reloaded the shotgun with shaky hands then tried to run and get away from the walkers.

But she almost fell backwards. A geek grabbed her by her hair. Her hair was long so if she was grabbed, the walker may at least still be a foot away from her. So with her hair still being pulled, Emyli turned around and shot the walker in the face.

She ran—ducking so she could avoid the stretched hands of the corpses and also to penetrate the small spaces in between them-like how a bull charged on its target.

Her name was called one last time but she knew that if she hollered back, she wouldn't be heard because of the distance and her low voice. So she just ran faster and pushed the geeks blocking her way, using her knife to put down some of them. As she ran, Carl's voice echoed in her mind and she realized what's different this time: Dale's death taught her that she could now care for people other than Kate to the point that the thought of them dying froze her in fear. Emyli used to believe that the more people you care for, the more vulnerable to pain you are-and that was still true. But she remembered another, more powerful truth that Dale shared with her: that caring for people gives us more reason to fight and live.

When she was only a few meters from the house, she saw that the porch and its front were already full of walkers. No signs of Carl or anyone. Even Hershel was not there anymore-it's either he went down or he snapped out of his killing frenzy and already got away.

Emyli looked around and realized she couldn't hear any sounds of engine anymore. Could they all have left already? She was about to charge to the sea of walkers ahead to check when a horrible shriek came from the back of the house.

She dashed to that direction. It was a woman's voice. She got a glimpse of Carol's face looking back as she ran away from the walkers fast gaining on her.

"Carol!" Emyli shot the geeks chasing Carol. Her mind was chanting: not her, not her as she ran to her rescue.

"Emyli!" Carol answered in between breaths. She was running toward the back of the house and Emyli knew it's suicide because if she planned to go inside, she would just be trapped as the front was already packed with walkers.

Emyli was several meters away from Carol; they were separated by a thick wall of geeks coming from all sides and direction. Emyli's holler earlier had gotten her more walkers encircling her, trapping her again. She used the shotgun to ward them off but they just kept on coming.

"Emyli!" Carol screamed again. For a split second Emyli saw that she didn't have any weapon except for a wooden stick thick as a baseball bat.

"Carol!" Emyli threw her shotgun. It landed a few feet from Carol. She didn't see if she was able to get the gun, the walkers on Emyli's side were now just also a few feet from her. She unsheathed her two black knives and started screaming as she put the geeks down by stabbing their heads. For the second time tonight, Emyli was thinking she's going to die any minute now.

The sound of motorcycle snapped Emyli out of her thoughts. Daryl! It must be him!

"Carol! Please save her!" she shouted as she struggled in warding off the walkers around her. She kicked them and pushed them and stabbed them but she knew she would soon be overpowered and she'd go down. "Daryl! Save Carol!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Soon enough, an arrow struck a walker about to get Emyli from her back. She didn't miss the swishing sound of the bolt behind her. She turned around after taking down a walker in front of her. As the geeks fell one by one, the sight of Daryl on his motorcycle, standing still and shooting with his crossbow appeared.

Emyli ran toward him, killing some walkers on the way.

"C-Carol!" she panted. "She's over there!" she pointed the back of the house. "Hurry!"

Daryl didn't say a word. They both could see that the walkers had reached the house; the geeks were piling at each other, pushing and pushing and perhaps they would really rip the house in a few minutes.

Emyli turned to Daryl who's still not moving on his spot.

"Hurry and save her!" she slammed her palm on Daryl's shoulder.

Daryl looked at her with a blank expression on his face. He shook his head in a dreadful manner.

"C'mon, le's go," he whispered averting her eyes and starting the motorcycle's engine.

Emyli stared at him unbelieving. Her face contorted to anger and disgust.

She ran toward Carol—or she attempted to but Daryl had reached and wrapped his arm around her waist to stop her.

"No! Let me go!" she fought to free herself but Daryl's hold was firm.

"Emyli, she's gone," Daryl said almost weakly.

"No! Please..."

The space they had created earlier was now disappearing; the walkers were closing in on them once more.

If Carol had screamed, Emyli didn't hear it. She looked at Daryl and gave in to his arms. She let herself be pulled and rode the motorcycle.

Daryl slung his crossbow to his shoulder and started driving with Emyli behind. She did not hold his waist or shoulders; her hands carried her knives ready for the walkers.

Their way was blocked; the walls of geeks in all directions were thick. Unlike the car or truck, the motorcycle couldn't make a way by running walkers over. Daryl struggled to find space to slip in. They would be easily swarmed.

Emyli put away her knives to her belt. She pulled the handgun from Daryl's side and stood up so she could get a better view of what's in front of them. Being small and sitting, she couldn't see what's ahead. But now, standing up she could now pave their way.

She was deadliest with a handgun. Without the shotgun's weight and powerful recoil, Emyli shot the walkers blocking their way with ease.

Daryl used the created space to drive the motorcycle through and away the sea of walkers. Trusting Emyli's balance, he drove in full speed. Emyli wobbled and had to put her left hand on Daryl's shoulder and hold to keep herself from falling. She continued shooting.

A gunshot from where they came from was heard. It's definitely from a shotgun and Emyli wondered if it was Carol. But she was not given time to ponder more on it as they were still surrounded. The way out of the farm, to the road, was especially barricaded by a wall of geeks.

"We're not going anywhere," Emyli said, sitting down and helping herself with bullets from Daryl's side pocket. She reloaded the gun, stood up and shot.

"Caught a glimpse of a clearin' over there," said Daryl, driving; he nodded to the direction going to the woods. "I'll take care of the front," he pulled another handgun from his other side. "Cover our sides an' back. Am gonna go full speed so don't ye' fall."

Emyli nodded and sat down. If Daryl's going to drive one-handed, she better not disrupt his balance. Besides, she didn't have to shoot standing up if her targets were on the side and back.

They finally put significant distance between them and the walkers. They got through the herd with a few chasing far behind them. But the path to where the group probably went remained impassable.

Daryl drove on to the woods; he and Emyli did not need to shoot anymore. It looked like all the walkers went to the farm's direction leaving this side of the woods safe...for now. Emyli tried to catch her breath, tried to steady the beating of her heart.

She put the gun back to Daryl's belt. With her hands empty, she still refused to hold on to him. She's mad at Daryl. Now more than ever.

He drove to and on a familiar slope.

Emyli realized that Daryl was taking them to the shack.

* * *

They were literally back to where they started. Luckily there was only the night; no ghosts and monsters-just the remnants of them blocking the entrance of the small shack.

Daryl stopped the motorcycle and waited for Emyli to get off before he did. She stepped to remove the dead corpses in front of the door without looking at Daryl.

"Hey," he called softly.

Emyli ignored him and went for shack. Daryl ran to her and in haste, held her wrist to stop her from walking away. It might be too firm of a hold—or too gentle, he honestly didn't know. He just had this feeling that once Emyli went inside without talking it out, she would shut down emotionally or she would run away from him. And for some reason, Daryl didn't any of that to happen.

She turned around and pulled free from him. She looked at him with angry eyes. Angry, Daryl noted. He remembered how scared Emyli looked when he searched her for bites. For him, angry was better than scared.

Now that he had her attention, Daryl didn't' know what to say. He averted her eyes as Emyli stared at him. When it seemed like he would not be able to find any word, Emyli removed her bag from her back and threw it inside the shack then returned her look on Daryl.

"You could have saved her," Emyli whispered.

Daryl knew the silly girl knew that if he had chosen to save Carol, Emyli would be the one to get left behind—and would suffer the same fate as her sister.

"Why?" Emyli asked accusingly. She pushed Daryl on his chest, hard, with both of her hands. He had to step backward. "Why me?" She pushed him again.

Daryl wanted to scold her, to scream at her his reason why. But his lips remained pursed, trying to control his own anger. The truth was he also didn't know the reason. Emyli was closer, sure; nearer to him when he saw the two girls surrounded by walkers. But he doubted he will allow Emyli to get left behind if Carol was the one nearer. Of course he wanted to rescue them both but he chose to save Emyli and made sure she'll get out of the farm alive and safe—even if it had meant Carol will die.

He looked at the silly girl who had stopped speaking and pushing. Emyli bowed her head; Daryl couldn't see her face. He stepped forward, carefully eliminating the distance between them.

"She was there and she was calling me," Emyli whispered, slowly looking up, slowly looking at Daryl. "She was there and I left her behind."

When Emyli cried to grieve for her sister's death, Daryl's back was on her so he didn't see. But this time was different. This time, Emyli cried looking at Daryl. Her usual blank face fell to a frown and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

It was hard to believe this was the same girl who looked and killed the corpse of her father without blinking an eye. At the same time, this girl was undeniably the same with the one who fought alongside Dale, pleading to spare a young man's life.

Daryl found both versions admirable.

Emyli faltered on her feet and fell. But Daryl's arms were fast, catching her midway, using his chest to support the girl's weight.

Daryl expected her to flinch; he expected her to push him away. But Emyli buried her face on his chest, crying silent tears.

"I would have died if you weren't there..." Emyli whispered, like a prayer, in between sobs; her face still hidden, still leaning on Daryl. "Thank you."

Daryl felt her arms gliding on his side, holding on to him, embracing him. The feeling was foreign, confusing him. It made him aware that his own arm was around Emyli's waist. Daryl nodded, to no one in particular, as if understanding, realizing something he had been pondering on—or perhaps acknowledging Emyli's gratitude. He pulled his other arm up and placed it on Emyli's hair, unsure and awkwardly.

For a while, they stayed like that: two people learning to be comfortable under human touch-one deprived of it and one who had long associated it with pain and fear.

Emyli continued to cry. Daryl didn't know what to do. His chin rested on the top of the girl's head. "Shh...," he began stroking her hair.

Then, when it seemed like they've been like that for a long time, Emyli pulled away. Daryl let her go. She wiped her face with her palms, then looked at him, "what are we gonna do now?" she asked.

Daryl cleared his throat. "Look for the others," he said. "They're probably back on the road where we lost Sophia." Emyli nodded. "There should be a way from here," she said. "Yeah," he answered. "But ye' need to rest first. Hopefully the corpses are far away from 'ere by dawn. But if it ain't the case, we're gonna need yer strength."

He was half expecting her to protest, to say they should go now. But Emyli just nodded and went inside the shack. She must really be tired. Not so much because of the shooting and running. Daryl knew it must have taken a lot of her courage for her to cry and in front of him. He followed her, leaving the door open so he could keep an eye on his motorcycle.

The girl settled herself against the wall, sitting with the entrance to her side. She reached for her bag and rummaged through it. Daryl sat beside, but a couple of feet away from her, nearer to the door. It's dark and only the dim, silvery shine from the moon coming from the open door lights the inside of the shack.

"Dinner?" Emyli said meekly handing a candy bar. Daryl let out a dry chuckle and took the Snickers. They ate in silence.

He kept an eye on her, glancing her way from time to time. She took a bite from the candy bar and chewed slowly while staring straight ahead at nothing.

"They should be fine," he assured her knowing she might be worrying about the others. And it's true because he heard vehicles driving away from the farm before he went to the direction where Emyli's and Carol's screams were coming from.

Emyli just bit from her candy bar and said nothing. Daryl could tell by her drooping eyelids that she was sleepy but fighting it. "Sleep," he told her firmly. "Dun' think for a while." He's doing the same thing. He was trying not to think of Carol, Rick and the others. It wouldn't help getting them rest—and they would find out tomorrow anyway. "I'll keep watch," he added.

She appeared to have taken Daryl's advice. She put the unfinished Snickers inside her bag then leaned her head completely on the wall...then she closed her eyes.

When Daryl finished his candy bar, he threw a glance at Emyli. She's now sleeping, with her head hanging in an awkward angle. He unslung his crossbow and moved closer to the girl until the sides of their arms touched. He scooped Emyli's cheek and put her head on his shoulder.

With his crossbow ready in front of him and Emyli sleeping peacefully beside him, Daryl kept watch for what's left of the night.

* * *

She was crying for some reason she couldn't remember. She should stop, she knew she should. Crying meant weakness. Crying meant punishment. But she couldn't help herself. There was someone watching her. When she saw who it was, she gasped in fear. It was the beast in two feet—the name she had called him in her mind because of his ferocity. He's telling her something but there's no sound coming from him. But what washed over her told her he must be saying sorry: a sense of love and of freedom. He waved his hand at her, saying goodbye. She waved back sadly and forgiving.

Then she was walking. She knew she's meeting someone but she didn't know who. She reached the end of the orange horizon and saw a girl with wavy brown hair. The girl walked toward her; smiling and holding a small chest. When they were just a couple of feet away from each other, she offered to her the chest. "Thank you," the girl said. "I'm giving this back to you."

She looked at the small box in her hands. What the girl said made her realize what's inside the chest: her heart, her life.

She looked up to see the girl one last time. But she's gone, taken by the sunset.

* * *

Emyli woke up. She straightened her neck and the moment she removed her head from Daryl's shoulder, he opened one eye to check on her.

She fidgeted on her spot realizing Daryl was so close and that she was sleeping on his shoulder. This was not the first time this happened, she also slept beside him when they were in the dairy, but somehow, something's different this time.

Daryl opened both his eyes and prepared to move away when he saw Emyli's surprised look seeing that he's close beside her.

"No," Emyli held Daryl's hand to stop him from putting distance between them. Daryl paused and looked at her. She removed her hand from his, averted his eyes and groped for words...and couldn't find any.

Daryl didn't need words from her; he rested his back on the wall again and returned sitting with the side of his arm touching Emyli's.

"Ye' okay?" Daryl asked Emyli when he saw her catching her forehead.

Emyli was trying to remember the dream she had but couldn't. "I'm okay," she told Daryl.

Emyli hugged her knees and bowed her head. It's still dark outside. She didn't know how many hours had passed since she fell asleep. She stopsped trying to remember the dream. Now she was feeling lightheaded.

"I haven't thanked you," she whispered.

"Ye already did," Daryl said carefully. "Earlier."

"Hm...no, not that. The raccoon."

Silence, then "oh...yeah. That."

"It was tasty."

Daryl's eyes narrowed. There's something different with the girl that he couldn't pinpoint. Her voice remained flat and her face blank but there was something different.

They were quiet for a while. Emyli played with her sneakers' shoelace while Daryl observed her.

"You don't owe me anything anymore," she said. "You told me before I can't die until you pay your debt."

"What, ye'r thinkin' of dyin' again?" Daryl snapped at her.

"No," she answered instantly. She was twisting her untied shoelace between her fingers. "I'm thinking of what I want now. Something to keep me going."

"Like a dream?" he suggested then scoffed. "Ye' din't have one when I asked ya' before."

"I think I have one already," she pausesd, "it's nothing grand but it'll do for now."

"An' what's that?"

Emyli let go of her knees but still looked ahead. "I want to walk," she whispered. "I want to walk under a sunset without fearing the night. Without being scared that someone will be taken away."

She waitedfor Daryl's reaction but he didn't say anything.

Emyli finally looked at him. "I know, it's a silly dream…" she said frowning.

Now it's Daryl who looked away.

"Think it's a good dream," he muttered nonchalantly.

Emyli sighed. And when she was about to bow her head again, Daryl whispered: "I'll walk with you."

She stared at Daryl but he was determined to avoid her eyes.

Emyli put her head on Daryl's shoulder once more and side by side, they waited for the break of dawn.

* * *

**Next chapter: **The beginning of Winter Arc.

* * *

**Writer's Note:**

I know guys…this update is looooooooooong overdue. I'm so sorry.

But here it is, the "season" finale and I hope you liked it J

On to acknowledgments:

Thank you so much for keeping with me despite the lack of new chapter. I would like to thank the following readers for **following** _Walk with Me:_

**_Goldenfightergirl, Mikki18, Pok3monTrain3erBlu3, SuperSaiyan529, TarikSkyrim, aaequitas, empath51780, hfward1221, lovely music, wierdunusualchick_**

Thank you so much to these awesome readers who put _Walk with me_ on their **favourite** list:

**_Mikki18_****_, Pok3monTrain3erBlu3, TarikSkyrim, hfward1221, lucylu0508_**

**And of course, a BIG THANK YOU to all those who left a REVIEW:**

**_Pok3monTrain3erBlu3:_** Aww, thank you so much. Hmm…I haven't thought of them "having" a kid. But they may be finding one soon *wink, hint, wink. But I don't know, we saw how Daryl is good with a baby in season 3. Emyli is a different case though. She's pretty unstable and her stoic personality is not motherly-like. I'm not so sure if she's gonna be good with a baby or a kid younger than Carl. But then again, she is a very loyal sister, similar to how loyal Daryl is to Merle. So we'll see…. Thanks so much again for leaving a review!

**_wierdunusualchick:_**Haha, thank you so much for your insightful review! And it really made my heart swell you saying that this story is different from Daryl fic you've read. It meant a lot to me. Thank you so much and I'm glad this story has that effect on you. And yeah! That was very perceptive of you, pointing out Emyli's comparison of Daryl with her dog; about comparing him to someone she loves and then not making the connection on how she feels about Daryl. Don't you think it's so much like her?Haha. She's very naïve on these kinds of things. Oh! And thanks as well for following **_Daryl, My Artificial Boyfriend!_**

**_JustME:_** Oh my, thank you so much. Your review made my day! And yeah, I'm gonna keep the chapters coming! I'd love to know what you particularly liked in this story. Hope I can hear from you again :)

**_Goldenfightergirl:_** Yes! Last chapter is completely out of the series' story. I've been fitting Emyli in all of the season 2 episodes and I wanted to write something different, something new, something not seen in TV so there. Was it okay? Did you like it or not? Let me know. Thanks for the review!

**_FuchsiaGrasshopper_**:: Hi! Thanks for always leaving a review! It means a lot to me and yours reviews never fail to put a smile on my face J Better Angels is my favourite chapter so far and I'm happy you find Andrea, Maggie and Emyli's friendship great as I'm also loving it. I was actually mortified when Andrea died in season 3 finale. I'll be planning out the season 3 and I'm not sure I'll follow the TV show's lead on Andrea's death. And don't worry, _Walk with Me_ will continue! And I'll have my own version of Winter! Yay! I'm so excited! I'm actually excited because I'll have more freedom writing the Winter arc because there's no material from the series to follow. Hoho! So expect unexpected things! Thanks so much again!

Okay! That's it guys. I hope I can hear from you again. I can't tell you how excited I am for Winter arc! Please look forward to it. And as much as I'd like to put new chapter every week, that may not be the case as work is really demanding right now and I also have another TWD fanfic that I enjoy writing (please do check out **_Daryl, My Artificial Boyfriend _**if you have time—it features a spin-off of Emyli and Daryl as an android who is not so android-like at all; if you want a good ol romantic comedy with a touch of sci-fi, you're gonna enjoy it). Anyway, I put update schedules of my stories on my profile so you might want to check it from time to time to know when the next chapter will come out.

**AND LEAVE ME A REVIEW:** How did you find Daryl and Emyli's reconciliation? How about the fall of Greene farm and those left behind? And while you're at it, why not guess on what will happen during winter?


	16. Chapter 13 - A New Day

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **The Greene farm was overran by a herd of walkers. The group tried to make a stand but there were just too many undead. The group was separated from each other as they tried to flee. Emyli tried to save Carol only for both of them to be surrounded by walking corpses. Daryl arrived and could only save Emyli. They ended up spending the night at the shack where they finally reconciled.

* * *

Chapter 13:** A NEW DAY**

* * *

The next day was the day the group decided not to look for Andrea; the day Rick told them that they were all infected; the day Rick said he killed his bestfriend for the group.

Emyli had kept her silence. She observed and listened, the things she did best. A lot had happened; some died. But nothing pressed more than those things that are unknown, unclear and unsure.

Daryl had guessed what's in Emyli's mind; he had read through her silence. "Lem'me talk to Rick," he told her when the sheriff walked away from where they were gathered encircling a fire; after he said that this was not a democracy anymore.

"No," Emyli told him. "I'll do it."

All eyes followed Emyli as she stood and walked and vanished into the darkness to follow Rick. No one spoke. No one breathed.

"Are you alright?"

Rick looked behind and nodded slowly to Emyli. His face was still stern. Serious. Tired. The girl stood beside him; they looked ahead without really seeing what lurked in the dark.

"Sometimes people forget that a leader is still a human being," Emyli said. "And people, as always, get pre-occupied with their own thoughts. Their own doubts and fears. And the leader rarely gets to answer the question, are you alright."

Rick looked at her.

"Are you alright, Rick?"

He scoffed then ran his palm to his face in exasperation. He turned to Emyli again, studied her face. Then he shook his head.

"It's okay not to be okay," she whispered.

Silence. And it was fine with Emyli; she could wait, she was patient. And the thing she wanted to tell Rick...well, she needed him to be level-headed when he decided on it.

"You were right," Rick uttered. "We should have fortified the farm, O-or looked for a better place..."

"No one could have known for sure."

"Yeah, yeah," brushing away Emyli's comment, perhaps thinking that she was patronizing him. "But I've also been..shortsighted."

The girl sighed. "Well...should we hire a fortune teller, then?"

It was a risky thing to say. Cheeky words from a stoic girl whose language had always provoked people in the past. Rick's showcase of temper earlier should have been a sign that he was not in the mood for this kind of conversation but Emyli stared hard at the sheriff, not letting him avert her eyes until he showed some kind of response.

In the end Rick smiled and it turned to an uncomfortable silent laughter.

"Perhaps we should," he said.

When Rick's face became serious again, he asked Emyli, "If you had known about it, would you have told everyone?"

Emyli was taken aback. She didn't expect Rick to ask her opinion. By "it", she knew he's referring to the walking plague. How they were all infected. How they will all turn when they die even without being bitten or scratched.

"I...I already know."

Rick looked at her with narrowed eyes egging her to continue.

"We have seen someone turned after dying from bullet wound," Emyli explained briefly. "I didn't know our group was not aware of it...until Daryl was confused about Randall who died because of broken neck but still turned."

Ths sheriff continued to stare. "And I didn't tell them," Emyi said. "I also didn't tell them... There seems to be no perfect time to reveal these things. Until there is only the imperfect moment when there are no other choices but to tell these truths."

Rick nodded. "How 'bout staying here? Does this feel right to y-"

"Rick, stop," Emyi cut him off. "You don't need to consult me about it."

The sheriff ran both his palms on his face. "Well...I'm sure you want me to do something," he said tiredly. "You went out here, followed me. What is it?"

"You said we have to stick together," Emyli started. "And I agree."

Rick nodded with narrowed eyes. "But?"

Emyli sighed. Rick was perceptive; and she hoped it will help her make Rick understand, since he could anticipate what was coming. "But we are not together. Not yet."

Rick averted her eyes. "Carol and Andrea."

"Yes. Please allow me and Daryl to go back."

The sheriff scoffed then shook his head. "No... No."

"We are not sure if they actually went down," Emyli tried to reason. "Let us go back, Rick. If we find dead bodies, so be it. We bury the ones we love, right?"

"Th-that farm was overran by a herd! They will not be gone after just a day. How do you plan to pave your way through and find Carol and Andrea? Wh-what if we are attacked without you and Daryl?!" Rick said. "We need to stick together."

Emyli looked at him with determined eyes. "We will Rick," she assured him. "But first we need to _be_ together."

Rick pursed his lips and said through gritted teeth: "I'm all ears."

"There is an abandoned theater west of this road," Emyli explained. "It was built along a road that was never finished. Now it's hidden in the woods…my dad and I tried to hunt there one summer. Anyway, I don't think anyone was there when the plague began. So it's unlikely that it's loaded with walkers."

The sheriff paused, considering this. "What makes you think nobody has holed up in there?"

"Well...it's actually not an ideal place to stay in for a long time," Emyli said. "There are trees around and weeds-but no wild fruits to scavenge. No nearby source of water, so we are not expecting any rabbits or possum. It's quite far from the road. And...the building is not that stable."

Rick nodded, still deep in thought.

"The group can go there while I and Daryl check the farm out. Glenn is now thinking of a plan for us to get through the herd. Once we get Carol and Andrea back, we can stay in the theater for a few days. To regroup and think of a plan," Emyli continued, studying Rick's face as he pondered on what she was proposing.

"We'll meet there, then," Rick finally said. "Got to gather supplies first. In case the theater is loaded-walkers or living, let's meet back here."

Emyli nodded and curled her lips to a curt smile.

"Thank you, Rick," she said. The sheriff started to make his back to the camp when Emyli added, "by the way, Daryl and I will be going…now."

* * *

"Got inspiration from Rick and Carl?" It was T-Dog who spoke when Rick and Emyli got back to the camp. The group was still encircling the fire while T-Dog stood guard a few feet away, obviously still hearig what the group was talking about.

"The walkers are attracted to light and sound-"

"And smell of the living," Emyli completed for Glenn. She took her seat between Lori and Beth.

"Yeah," Glenn said then turned to Daryl again. "You need to create a diversion so you can get close to the house."

"So we need to build a fire," Emyli surmised, nodding to herself, remembering that Rick and Carl escaped the herd by setting the barn on fire.

"You can bring the walkers to the slaughter shed," Maggie suggested.

"No, the shed is too near the house," Glenn answered promptly. "You need the fire to be at a significant distance in the opposite direction."

"The horse stable," everybody's head turned; it was Hershel who spoke. His voice was low and sad. For a moment, nobody wanted to speak. This must hurt for the old man.

"Right...," Glenn said carefully. "The stables." He looked at Emyli gravely. He was wary of the next words he knew he had to speak in a little while. "Do you really think Carol is still in the house?"

Now everyone's eyes were on her. Emyli looked at no one in particular. She said with a blank face: "If she is still alive, she should be somewhere inside the house."

Glenn nodded firmly. He pointed at Daryl, then at Emyli, then he spoke the words he had been dreading to say. "One of you must go through the herd, rally them towards the stables then burn them. While the other one sneaks in toward the house to check on Carol."

"One bait and one chameleon then," Daryl whispered with stern face.

* * *

They didn't wait any longer. After several minutes of preparation Daryl and Emyli were already on the road. Carl had asked Emyli in a low voice, "why can't you wait 'till morning?" She told the boy, "with the plan that we have, darkness is our friend," then she tried to smile at him, to reassure him. What she didn't tell Carl was that they cannot gamble on Carol and Andrea making it through another night alone.

T-Dog tried to tag along-and Maggie as well. But Daryl pointed out that they needed more people with the core group especially because they have Beth, Carl and Lori with them. In the end, they just helped the two take the gasoline from Daryl's motorcycle and put the vehicle at the back of the pick-up truck.

Daryl drove back to the farm's direction. Soon enough, they were in the woods. They kept their eyes peeled because unlike Carol, Andrea would have got off the farm. If she had, she should be just around the area. As Rick had said earlier, she knew they went back for Merle before; she definitely was capable of believing they will go back for her. Their best hope was that Andrea had escaped from the farm with Carol and that they would find them together hiding in the woods.

"They might not see the fire but they'll definitely hear gunshots if it'll come to that," Emyli said.

"Ain't the plan I got in mind," Daryl slurred. "If they ain't in there, we regroup immediately and drive 'round the perimeter instead. The only shot to be fired is when I found them-or when I don't."

They were lucky their way to the farm was uneventful; it looked like the walkers had converged in one area, however, it also meant not finding Andrea or Carol in the woods. They stopped several kilometers from where the farm was. They were at the outskirts of the farm's field, where the herd had come from. They couldn't afford to park too close as the truck's noise may have gotten them unwanted attention. They got off the truck and unloaded the things they needed.

"Ye ready?" Daryl stood a few feet from Emyli, observing the girl as she reached for her pocket.

Emyli pulled and tied her hair and Daryl stared. Once the hair was tied to a mid-pony tail, she looked at him and said, "yes." It was only then that Daryl took his eyes off her and nodded slowly. Then it was Emyli's turn to stare. She had been feeling uneasiness coming from him since they were in the truck.

"Make sure you run fast," Daryl had said through gritted teeth the moment they hit the road earlier. "Dun' let yerself get blocked by 'em in front. Lest yer screwed."

Emyli just stayed silent and barely moving; just keeping her eyes on the road.

For some reason, she wasn't scared for herself. Daryl spoke as if her part in the mission was harder, when in fact Daryl's role was just as dangerous. But she wasn't scared for him. Emyli trusted him. He would make it through, no doubt. She just hoped he could trust her the same way.

She felt Daryl glanced at her.

"An' tie yer hair," he had barked.

The mission would have been easier if Emyli knew how to drive. She could attract the walkers with the noise of the vehicle and lead them away from the house as Daryl sneaks; similar to what Maggie did when they were in the village. But she didn't and she was too proud to let another person take on the mission with Daryl. She wasn't being her usual objective self but this way, no one else got to risk their lives for the rescue mission that she proposed.

"So…provide us with visuals," Daryl handed over the binoculars, "an' am gonna go get our guy." With that, he turned and ran quietly and vanished into the woods.

Emyli surveyed the farm with the binoculars. The area was loaded with undead as expected, roaming and walking aimlessly. There were a couple of geeks loitering on the middle part of the field. The sea of walkers got thicker and thicker as Emyli's sight moved to the house. The house was almost invisible behind the herd. She moved the binoculars to her left and saw what remained of the barn still breathing smoke from last night's fire; it became a portal where barbequed walkers vanished and emerged.

She shifted the view farther to the left, to the horse stable's direction. It was located about a kilometer behind the barn. Emyli also couldn't make out the stable due to the sea of walkers. She removed the binoculars from her eyes and sighed. It was hell of a huge crowd to rally.

Emyli prepared the torch as she waited for Daryl. Her hands were fast working as she glanced around from time to time. She wrapped a cloth wet with gasoline around the tip of a wooden stake. She secured the knives on her belt and the handgun in her back pocket.

Daryl emerged from the darkness dragging a walker's body.

"This one wandered off his flock," he announced as he let go of the undead's arm and unsheathed his knife.

"We're lucky he's a loner," Emyli whispered and joined Daryl in taking the dead body apart.

They cut him up. Daryl rummaged through inside the walker with his hands and started wiping his bloody hands on his arms and gray sleeveless shirt. Emyli helped him by putting blood on his back, on places he wouldn't be able to reach. Before she went behind him, Daryl saw her inhale deeply, biting her lip afterwards and covering her nose with her arm for a few seconds.

He felt her hands on his back. She was about to get more blood when Emyli suddenly turned around and threw up.

"Hey, ye okay?" Daryl looked back. She stood straight, coughing and wiping her mouth with her arm. Emyli nodded.

"Thought yer used to this," he commented, "yer shack was guarded by these psychos with their insides out."

"Doesn't mean this didn't happen," Emyli said. She joined Daryl again, squatted across him and dipped her hands inside the walker, obviously with her breath held. "I don't have any problem killing them...or looking at them." She put blood below Daryl's neck, a spot he missed. He almost tried to deflect her hand as it unexpectedly reached out to him. But after that split-second of surprise, he let her touch him and just looked away. "It's not disgust," Emyli continued as she withdrew her hand. Daryl met her eyes and held her stare. "It's just...when you see them this way and you take them apart...you realize they are still like you. And you will be like them when you die."

Daryl scowled. "Ye do one more round on my back then let me handle this."

Emyli pursed her lips, realizing what she said added to Daryl's uneasiness. She did what he asked her to do then stepped away from him.

It was Rick who told them they needed to disguise the one who will sneak into the house as one of the walkers. "Once one of 'em start chasing the fire, others will follow," he had said. "But we can't rely too much on domino effect. And you need as much time as you can get to check the house; can't do that if the walkers are chasing you." And then he had told them how to do it: just like how he and Glenn got out of the department store before.

Emyli wiped her hands with a piece of cloth. She was ready. The unlit torch was on her left hand and the lighter on her right. She looked at Daryl covered with blood, doing something with the walker's face. It took a few more seconds then he stood up, putting something through his head.

"Ear necklace," Emyli noticed as Daryl stepped toward her.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I made one fer ye, too."

And before Emyli could protest, he slipped the necklace through her head.

"O-ok," she stuttered, pulling her ponytail trapped between her neck and the string. "That's sweet..." She stared at Daryl as if waiting for him to comment on how the...ear looked on her.

"Give it back if ye dun' want it," he attempted to take it off her but Emyli turned to her side. "No. You already gave it to me," she said.

"Good. C'mon."

The two entered the woods and walked. Daryl had the flashlight so he was leading the way closer to the house. They didn't stopped very near it, though because where they would stop meant where Emyli would emerge from the woods with the torch. The nearer they were to the house, the thicker the herd and Emyli should not be trapped amidst it. So they chose to stop on a spot where the walkers were still loosely grouped so at least Emyli could have breathing and running room to her left.

Daryl and Emyli looked at each other at the same time.

"I'll see you later?" Emyli asked him. Daryl nodded trying to harden his look.

Then for one, strange, awkward second, the two stepped closer to each other, not exactly knowing why. Daryl's arm, the arm with the hand not holding the crossbow, twitched and Emyli thought he was going to pull her to him-but he averted her eyes and retreated instead.

"See ye later," he repeated.

Emyli stared at his face. She reached with her hand and brushed her index finger through Daryl's right eyebrow. To Emyli it was just removing a droplet of blood caught between the web of small hair above his eyes; to Daryl it was Emyli's finger touching a part of his face. He was reminded of their hunt in the woods.

Then before he could react, the girl withdrew her hand and turned and lit the torch.

She ran into the sea of walkers.

* * *

The walkers turned their heads to the source of light. The corpses at the frontline started to shift their movements from walking aimlessly, to purposeful chasing. The others in the middle were alerted by the reaction of the walkers ahead of them and started following as if assuming the commotion wàs caused by the sight of food. The corpses at the back mimicked those in the middle.

It was a chain reaction. In no time, the herd was following Emyli.

She was brandishing the torch, swinging it on the walkers' faces. She was holding the fire with her right hand; her black knife on her left. The herd was converging toward her. She was just nearing the quarter mark of her approximately four-kilometer run to the stables; they were getting closer on such a short time-faster than what she would have wanted.

Daryl must have had sneaked to the house already. Their plan was for him to go once she was a kilometer away. Not too early because the corpses at the tail of the parade may see him go for the house and the same chain of reaction could be triggered. The thought comforted Emyli. He's now looking for Carol and Andrea.

Emyli ran. Now that she got the walkers' attention, she just simply ran. She used the torch to pave her way, to not let herself get trapped in front. The walkers that caught up to her on the sides, she killed with her knife.

Another seven minutes down; Another kilometer done. Now she just needed to finish the next half of her run and set the horse stable on fire.

But something else was on fire already: Emyli's lungs and legs. But there was no time to rest. Speed was what making her able to push through the walkers ahead and keep the others chasing behind her. Lose the momentum and she gets mobbed by the corpses. The plastic container with the gasoline hanged from her shoulders adding weight and burden. Emyli felt goosebumps as she craved for air. Outstretched arms reaching for her in every direction.

She couldn't run anymore. So Emyli stopped to catch her breath. And then the walkers came for her.

* * *

Daryl watched as Emyli swung the torch on the walkers. There was grace in her movements. If it wasn't for the corpses that started chasing her, it would look like she was dancing, galloping on a huge stage. He was timing her run, timing his wait. He gritted his teeth and grinded them anxiously. It was hard for Daryl to contain his anger, seeing the girl got chased by hundreds of living dead.

When Emyli vanished from the view, he punched the trunk of the tree beside him in frustration.

"Shit," he spitted. Daryl walked to the house's direction knowing Emyli was yet to finish a kilometer.

The majority of the herd had followed the girl, but there were those that were too slow that got left behind. They saw Daryl walked toward them. The walkers turned to his direction and followed him. There was this brief moment when the undead sniffed the air around him, as if smelling, recognizing traces of life's scent on Daryl. He didn't stop walking but readied his weapon. The moment passed and the walkers went on roaming. Some followed him; some went to a different direction.

He wanted to rush: to run to the house, find Carol and Andrea, go back to the truck and fetch Emyli at the horse stable. But Daryl knew it would not be that easy. If he would break into a run, the walkers will trace the irregularity of his movements amidst the slow and dragging herd. Who would know if the smell of the undead would still be as effective of a repelant? He better not risk it. He needed thread on this carefully.

He reached the back of the house, the very same area where they left Carol. There was a thinner version of the herd there. Daryl approached the back door slowly, walking, slipping through the corpses. He looked around. No Carol. No Andrea.

Daryl went inside the house. Obviously, the walkers were not able to bring it down; no one also got the idea of turning the doorknob as the door was closed. Some corpses followed him inside, much to his irritation. Daryl grunted but formed the words Carol and Andrea. No answer. He went for the rooms, closets, went upstairs but no living person. He went back out, angry and frustrated. He cursed under his breath.

He was about to give up, knowing Emyli was still out there, running from corpses and probably chasing her breath. Daryl turned to leave when he noticed something strange.

The walkers had gathered on the ground near the house. They knelt and groaned loudly as they scratch their nails on what sounded like wood.

Wood. Daryl walked toward the spot they were gathered on. Once he got a closer look, he realized.

A cellar. Of course. The cellar. He saw the trapdoor in between the arms and hands of the corpses.

Daryl moved quickly. There were about five walkers clawing on the trapdoor. He unsheathed his knife and killed them one by one. At first the walkers were alerted by Daryl's quick, silent attack but confusion halted their retaliation as he still smelled like dead to them, unappealing. So before they could decide to attack or not, Daryl had killed them all.

The walkers around only paid slight attention. Without a scent to confirm that food was around, they just simply ignored the commotion. Daryl did not complain and went for the cellar. He knocked on it and quietly called, "I ain't got all day."

"I-It's me," a voice squeaked. "Carol."

His heart swelled. "Stay put," Daryl instructed through a whisper. "Will get ye out here but..." He reached for the body nearest to him and took it apart with his knife. Then he pulled the trapdoor up as silently as he could. He saw Carol looking scared and traumatized more than ever. This was not going to be easy, Daryl thought.

"I'm gonna drop a dead walker with ye," he explained. The look on Carol's face seemed to ask him if he had lost his mind. "Gotta trust me on this. These psychos'll chase us down if ye don't do this. Ye need to smell like 'em for us to get through."

Daryl did not wait for her to respond and pulled the body to the hole and let it fall. Carol let out a low shriek.

"Take some blood and put it on ye."

He could hear her cry as she knelt in front of the body. With shaky hands, she turned it over and cried louder, looking away when she saw its open chest and stomach. Carol reached with her hand and blindly found its way to the walker's insides, only to withdraw it once she felt blood.

"I-I cant...please. I can't."

"Good lord, woman-"

Daryl was not able to finish his sentence. The walkers were coming closer to him, closer to the cellar. They were biting the air repeatedly and grunting as if in frenzy.

They could smell food—definitely food this time—and they were coming for it.

* * *

Emyli spun on her spot holding the flaming torch. The walkers encircling her backed off a bit. That was all she needed. She slipped through the spaces and ran toward the field where there were fewer walkers. She ran full speed to the barn's direction. It felt like her heart would explode, her legs and arms felt heavy and numb. She tried not to care and focused her sight on horse stable just about seven minutes away if she could keep her speed.

But when she reached the barn's remains, she was greeted by black walkers: charred and with skin torn and crispy. She calmed her self, if that's even possible with her pounding ears and heart, by stating the facts to herself: these walkers are slower that the regular ones; they look very unpleasant but the truth is, they are less dangerous. Emyli ran past them, on to the stables.

When she was close to reaching it, she could feel herself slowing down. The walkers had gained on her. She stopped and leaned on a wooden post as she could not hold her cough any longer. When the corpses behind her were only a few feet away, she unslung the gasoline from her shoulder and started pouring them on the ground as she walked backwards. When Emyli was almost at the end of the stables' alley, she threw the torch.

The area immediately caught fire; she was never more thankful for the presence of haystacks. The walkers who came through the fire burned but still chased Emyli, following her smell.

She turned to run to get out of there but a quarters' door ahead of her opened. The group of walkers that came out saw her immediately and went for her.

Emyli looked behind desperately searching for a way out. But she perfectly knew what she would see: flame and corpses on fire behind her. The walkers ahead were to tightly packed because of the limited space, it's doubtful if she could charged on them and get through unscathed.

She froze on her spot. It's just a matter of whose side will get to her first. Emyli's going to die.

* * *

Daryl and Carol reached the truck. They walked as quickly as they could but not as fast as they wanted to because Carol needed assistance. She was limping having twisted her ankle when she jumped to the cellar the night the farm got overran.

Earlier, when Daryl fought the walkers to keep the cellar clear, he screamed that Emyli was out there, alone and running as a bait just so Carol could be rescued. It was then that Carol snapped out of her crying fit and put walker blood on her. She emerged from the cellar, still sobbing. Good thing Daryl had put down the nearby walkers. He immediately went for another body and put more blood on him. Then he held Carol by her waist upon seeing her limp. The woman held on to his shoulder and they walked feet by painful feet.

When they reached the other side of the house, Daryl looked ahead to the stable's direction. No smoke, no sign of fire. He went for the house earlier than planned so perhaps Emyli hasn't reached the stables yet, he thought, trying to calm himself.

They rode the truck with Carol beside Daryl. He fired his gun to signal Emyli that he was on his way to fetch her. It was then that smoke came from the stables' direction. He drove quickly. Walkers chased them along the way but he couldn't care.

"Where is Emyli?" Carol asked in a panicked voice. "Where is she?!"

Daryl did not respond and focused on driving. In a couple of minutes, they reached the side of the burning stables. They gained a follower of walkers behind them but still a significant distance away.

But no Emyli.

She was supposed to stay near the stables but she was nowhere in sight.

"Stay 'ere," he told Carol as he gave her a handgun. Daryl took the shotgun that was with Carol and he got off the truck.

Silly girl, don't you die on me, Daryl chanted in his mind. Out loud he called, "Emyli!"

He screamed her name again and again. He walked around but keeping the truck in his sight.

"Emyli!" He screamed. "Fuck. Where ye at, silly girl?"

No one answered. He called her again but she did not answer.

"Daryl!" The scream was from the truck. Carol. Four walkers started gathering around it.

Daryl screamed and cried in frustration as he shot the corpses from afar. They couldn't leave without Emyli. Not without her.

"Emyli!"

But she wasn't coming, only the walkers were. The stables were starting to collapse and more undead are converging on Carol. He had to accept it.

She's gone.

Perhaps she ran away—away from the walkers. Perhaps. He didn't know, he wasn't sure.

She's gone.

Daryl wanted to tell Carol to go ahead and drive; he wanted to stay and look for the girl. But he knew in Carol's state, she could not survive alone. And Daryl couldn't lose them both.

So he walked away from the stables. Away from Emyli. He was leaving her behind.

Daryl wiped something from his eyes as he brisk-walked toward the truck. He shot the walkers with silent madness, cursing the whole world for what it had become. In his mind he could hear the silly girl's low, flat voice calling his name.

"Daryl!"

He stopped on his tracks. The voice was not in his head. It's coming from behind.

When Daryl looked back, he saw Emyli inside the stables, coughing from a small window twelve feet from the ground.

He ran back. He didn't speak. He just motioned for her to go down. To jump.

Emyli did—knowing they didn't have much time.

Daryl caught her but not without getting knocked down on his back.

"Thank God yer light and small," he muttered with his arms around her.

"Thank God there was an empty quarters to my right," Emyli said as she pulled herself up. She held Daryl's hand and pulled him up as well.

They ran to the truck.

"Do we have them?" Emyli asked, panting.

"Carol."

Emyli's eyes gleamed.

Daryl took the driver seat and Emyli climbed the back of the truck. She readied her gun to shoot the walkers that would be chasing them as they drove away.

* * *

They lost their tail of walkers when they were in the middle of the woods, going for the road. Emyli turned around and looked through the glass. Carol was peacefully sleeping. She looked at Daryl's side and saw him looking at her too. Emyli curled the side of her lips. Daryl looked away, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

It was regretful that they didn't find Andrea.

The sun rose in the east and they drove to the direction of the theatre where the core group would be. They stopped in a gas station to refill Daryl's motorcycle and to bring some with them for the others; they also gathered supplies. To their delight, the station's bathroom had running water. While Carol slept, Daryl took a bath. Emyli gave him change of clothes she kept inside her backpack, and then she too cleaned herself after his turn. Then they woke Carol up so she can take a shower as well. While waiting for her, Emyli stood outside the truck, leaning beside the driver's side door. Daryl walked up to her after putting some supplies at the back.

"Hey," Daryl called. He stood a couple of feet away in front of Emyli.

"Hey," Emyli repeated with her blank expression. She looked at Daryl but she could as easily be looking through him.

Daryl scowled. "Ye alright?" he asked her.

"Just thinking that I should have warmed-up before running last night."

Daryl scoffed and Emyli allowed herself a soft chuckle.

"I guess you won't have me as your partner anymore," she bowed her head and told him sadly. "After what happened…."

He stepped one step closer to her. "Partner?" he grunted then shrugged. "After what happened, ye ain't leavin' my sight again."

Emyli raised her head and looked at Daryl. They had been having several awkward moments lately where both of them start to make a move…only to retreat; they were always left wondering what was supposed to happen. Emyli thought this was one of those moments—but this time, she was the only one who made a move: she reached for him with both hands and arms. She caught herself before midway; stopped herself because Daryl was staring at her with a confused, almost angry look on his face.

She averted his eyes immediately and sighed feeling embarrassed. What was she gonna do anyway? Daryl saw her struggle with her thoughts. He fidgeted on his spot and started looking suspiciously around. And when he thought no one was there and Carol was still in the shower, Daryl took the sides of Emyli's face to his hands and planted a quick kiss on top of her head.

"We better get goin'." Daryl turned around quickly, before Emyli could say or do anything. He climbed the driver seat, closed the door and didn't look back.

Emyli was yet to recover from what happened. She remained standing outside, staring blankly ahead. A couple of seconds after, Carol came out of the station, looking refreshed. It was only then that she moved to assist Carol, then she went to the pick-up's backside with Daryl's motorcycle. They drove away. She did not stay near the glass so she wouldn't have to see Daryl.

It was a stolen kiss. And a kiss-and-run, too, Emyli told herself. She felt cheated on, as if he needed to explain the kiss. But then she realized it didn't need to be explained; the kiss itself was the message.

She was aware that Daryl had also built walls around him; guarded and impenetrable. The kiss was him saying he's letting her in. Like she's now part of the family. A kiss on the top of her head…like he was seeing her as a little sister. That was what Emyli thought.

Like a family—like a little sister.

Now Emyli wondered why she was frowning.

* * *

**Next Chapter: **We meet new people—including a guy from Emyli's past?

* * *

**Writer's Notes:**

Finally! I was able to update this fanfic. I should say I really missed writing Daryl and Emyli in this context—I might have been a little off with them as I was working with Daryl and Emyli in an alternate universe. Anyway, I hope you guys are still there

Thank you so much to the readers who **followed** Walk with Me:

**DaRk-SnOw-FlOwEr24****, ****Freckles the Wanderer****, ****KikiLuBlossoms****, ****Pok3monTrain3erBlu3****, ****TashaBeckham****, ****The Orca Song****, ****blueberrybunny3630****, ****crazychicalol****, ****izzywizzyme****, ****jalannas****, ****sydsyd****, ****the-asian-fidget****, ****tyrannosaurusss**

My hugs and kisses to those who put Walk with Me on their **favourite** list:

**AsheeCakes07****, ****DaRk-SnOw-FlOwEr24****, ****KikiLuBlossoms****, ****Millenia-the-wings-of-valmar****, ****Pok3monTrain3erBlu3****, ****TashaBeckham****, ****The Orca Song****, ****darkdrag215****, ****sweetsweetsacrifice**

And my love to those who left a **REVIEW**, thanks guys!

_**Goldenfightergirl**__**:**_ Hi! I guess your question has been answered! Yay! Carol's alive! The rescue was sooooo hard to write I actually regretted (a bit) leaving Carol behind. But it had meant Emyli getting a kiss from Daryl (even though it's just on top of her head) so I thought it was worth it in the end.

_**FuchsiaGrasshopper**__**:**_ Aww…thanks for your nice comments. I was also disappointed that the writers chose the easy way out for Andrea And about the title, haha, I've been dying to write that scene since…forever. That scene was what made me write this story so imagine my frustration of wanting to write it already when I was just writing the build-up. LOL. Thank you, and I'm glad you liked it. More twists and turns coming up

_**Pok3monTrain3erBlu3**__**:**_ I'm so happy you find Emyli's awkwardness funny, I was going for that. And about Emyli getting to be like a mom, I think I have something in store for you soon

_**Lilly72**__**:**_ Kyaa! Who wouldn't want Daryl to tell them "I'll walk with you"? Kyaaa! I'm glad you liked it.

_**Anonymous:**_ Yay! Thank you so much.

_**The Orca Song**__**:**_ Thank you so much for your insightful comments. I'm thrilled that you liked Emyli (esp. in a fandom that OCs get flamed usually). And I agree with what you said; We cannot totally be cold and numb. With Emyli's case she wants her walls knocked down already. I think she's ready to let people in and she's now consciously watching her emotions. The issue with her is that, she can also be naïve at times. I'm expecting this to clash with Daryl's rage and his own other issues. Need I need to say that their relationship is awkward and complicated? LOL. But I hope you'd still find them amusing, if not loveable

_**KikiLuBlossoms**_: Aww thank you so much. I hope I can write another scene like that. I hope you liked this chapter

* * *

**Announcements about updates**: Since my last chapter before this was released more than a month ago, I wanted to create a more regular schedule so you know when to expect the next chapter.

Considering my demanding job and that I'm writing two TWD fanfics on top of an original story, I'll release new Walk with Me chapter **every other week**—usually on a Sunday (Sunday on my time, probably that's Saturday in America).

FYI: The other TWD fanfic I was talking about is called "**Daryl, My Artificial Boyfriend**." The reason why the release schedule is every other week is for me to work on a single fanfic every week. Meaning, since I release Walk with Me chapter this today, expect a Daryl, My Artificial Boyfriend update next week and then Walk with Me chapter again the week after that.

I hope that helps And yeah, please do check out Daryl, My Artificial Boyfriend.

Thank you so much!


	17. Chapter 14 - A Different Kind of Sick

Thanks for viewing.** Please READ and REVIEW. **Thank you so much.

* * *

**WALK WITH ME**

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

* * *

**Previously: **Daryl and Emyli went back to the farm to look for Carol and Andrea. Rescuing Carol, Emyli almost didn't make it out alive from the burning stables. This earned her a kiss on the head from Daryl.

* * *

Chapter 14:** A DIFFERENT KIND OF SICK**

* * *

Glenn and T-Dog approached Daryl with caution-like how one would approach a bear in slumber. Daryl was quiet and away from eveybody as usual. He was staring at something unseen with his usual scowl. It actually looked like nothing was different-aside from the fact that there was. And Glenn and T-Dog wouldn't want to miss this opportunity to help Daryl with something he just wasn't good, but actually terrible at.

"Hey, man," T-Dog called. Daryl didn't look at them. The sudden noise just broke his stare and he exasperatedly ran a palm on his face.

"We plannin' boys' camp or somefin'?" Daryl asked irritably as the two guys made themselves comfortable with Glenn sitting across and T-Dog beside him.

"Not plannin'," T-Dog said with a smirk, "_this_ is the boys' camp!"

Glenn tried to laugh but only managed an uncomfortable "ha-ha" as he could sense Daryl was in his dangerous mode.

"Piss off," Daryl spitted. "What d'ye want?"

Glenn and T-Dog exchanged glances, nodding at each other, egging the other one to talk.

"Ahm...about Emyli-"

Glenn was not able to continue. Daryl shifted on his seat upon hearing the girl's name. Now that they got his attention, Glenn couldn't bring himself to go on-seeing the murderous look on Daryl's face.

T-Dog came to rescue. "We know what happened, man," he said trying to sound comforting. "You know you can talk to us about it."

The redneck looked at him with narrowed eyes. In the end, Daryl let out a deep breath. "Ain't nothin' to talk about."

"Yes there is," Glenn was almost surprise at his own enthusiasm. The next words, he spoke carefully. "It must be hard for you. I mean, when it happened to me, I couldn't sleep."

Daryl studied Glenn's face, weighing, thinking, if there was really something to talk about. Perhaps it's alright to share his thoughts sometimes. Daryl nodded, giving in. "Yeah," he grunted. "I din't know what to do afterwards." He bowed his head, looking tired. "And I can't stop thinkin' about it."

Glenn and T-Dog exhange glances again. There were coy smiles playing at the end of their lips. T-Dog nodded for Glenn to continue.

"Same thing with me," the Asian said. "I couldn't believe it was happening. Like I must be dreaming or something."

Unbelievably, more nods coming from Daryl. It suddenly felt right to him: talking about it and with someone who had experienced the same thing. "No shit," he blurted. "I mean, it totally scared the shit out'ta me."

"Oh man, you felt that way too?!" Glenn asked. "I was also so scared when it happened to me."

"I knew there's gotta be something that scares you, man," T-Dog told Daryl, shaking his head. "So what did she do after the...you know. After that."

The redneck shrugged. "Ye know the girl," he muttered, "went on like nothin' happened."

"Same thing with Maggie," Glenn said rather sadly. "Kinda left me hanging afterwards."

Daryl paused and felt lost for a moment. But T-Dog talked over that Daryl was not given time to ponder on what Glenn said.

"You sure it was just nothing to her?" T-Dog probed. "Did she do anything? Say anything?"

Daryl looked at the two other boys with a confused look on his face. He did still answer T-Dog, though.

"No," he answered promptly while trying to remember. "The girl just jumped and said thank God there was an empty quarters."

Now it was the the two other boys' turn to feel lost for a second but then the shock was easily replaced by amusement.

"That's good, isn't it?" Glenn remarked not hiding his smile anymore. This took Daryl aback and it brought back his murderous look. Glenn said the next words as if he bit his tongue. "She...m-must have been happy. About it."

"What?" Daryl asked, his cheeks twitching in disbelief.

"Man, if she reacted that way," T-Dog explained, all smiles, "she must have felt good about the kiss."

Daryl was dumbfounded.

"The what?"

T-Dog and Glenn fidgeted on their seats.

"The kiss, man," T-Dog repeated, his smile now gone. "Aren't we talkin' about it?" He looked at Glenn to cover him; the Asian nodded nervously.

"What!?"

"I-I was talking about the first time Maggie and I kissed," Glenn explained. "Aren't you talking about kissing Emyli...?"

"Wha-hell no!"

"Well...you did say you couldn't stop thinking about it," T-Dog said. "That you didn't know what to do afterwards and that it scared you."

Glenn supported him. "Yeah, but then Emyli jumped and said good thing there was an empty room... I mean, it sounded good. I think she liked it-"

"What the hell!" Daryl pulled himself up, punching the air. "Who told ya I kissed 'er!?" he roared. The two boys got on their feet, bracing themselves for the angry wolf. "It ain't what happened! I din't...I din't..."

Daryl wanted to tell them that he didn't kiss the girl. But he did-but not the kind of kiss T-Dog and Glenn were thinking of. He looked at both of them looking scared of what he'll do next.

He sneered at them and turned his back. It was so ridiculous. Even if he did kiss the girl _that _way, why would he want to talk about it with them? They didn't think he could handle it? That he would need to talk to them boys about it like a girl who just got kissed for the first time?

Fuck that.

And he didn't kiss her _that_ way.

Daryl started storming out of the room. Just about when T-Dog and Glenn were to breathe a sigh of relief, he turned around and barked: "I was talkin' about how she nearly died last night." He gritted his teeth, fighting the natural urge of remembering how it felt when he thought the girl was gone. "She jumped from one of the quarters' small window to get away from the corpses." He then reached for the door but it opened even before he could put his hand on the knob.

The topic of their conversation stood at the doorway, staring blankly at Daryl's red, furious face.

Daryl averted her eyes and slipped through, out of the room.

"Why are you all red in the face?" asked Emyli.

"We're...ahm," Glenn stuttered.

"Doin' some cardio" T-Dog supplied.

"Yeah, yeah," Glenn agreed. "Some push-ups...and running."

Emyli eyed them suspiciously. Neither of them were sweating, just flushed faces. "That's...good," she said. "Rick's calling for a quick meeting. Let's go."

"Don't. Ever. Drag me into cardio again, T," Glenn mouthed behind his smile at Emyli. He followed her out the room.

"Whut?" T-Dog called. "This was your idea!"

* * *

The theatre was as Emyli had described: far from the road without nearby stream or source of food—but at the same time, the nearest walkers they had to kill were a mile away from the building. No electricity, no running water—but at least it was a shelter from the weather which was getting colder and colder.

A day after Carol's rescue, the group was able to settle down. They took the dressing rooms: one for Lori and Carl, one for the Greene family, one for Carol and Emyli and one for the boys but its main stay were T-Dog and Glenn as Rick and Daryl had insisted on roaming around the perimeter.

The meeting that morning was held in the auditorium. Rick stood just below the stage as the rest of the group occupied the front seats.

"We're temporarily staying here," Rick announced. "For today we have to seal the front entrance. Too wide and too far from our rooms. We'll start using the backdoor." Nods and silence. "We also have to check the whole building for any material or things we can use. And we also need to make a run for supplies. Most of what Daryl and Emyli got were gas and some tools. We need food and water."

"I'll do it," Daryl said, standing up and slinging his crossbow on his shoulder.

Rick nodded. "Take Emyli with you."

Daryl looked at the girl and studied her for a moment. "Fine."

Except for Daryl's motorcycle, their vehicles were parked in clearing about half a kilometer away from the building. Daryl secured his bike, actually put it inside the theatre just to be sure, as he waited for Emyli. Glenn was pacing outside as the guard, completely being ignored by Daryl.

When the girl came out and saw Daryl's angry eyes on her, she pointed her hair, "all tied up," she muttered. It was only then that Daryl became conscious of his scowl; he breathe and tried to relax the muscles in his face. He nodded to the girl and motioned for her to start walking.

"How are ye?" Daryl asked rather awkwardly as he walked behind Emyli. He had been scolding himself since yesterday for not being able to put his mind off what happened in the farm. For this reason, he had also been avoiding her. But since Rick seemed to have decided that they went particularly good together, Daryl had no choice but to sort this out.

Emyli turned her head to glance at him. "Just some muscle pain in my legs," she said. Her face was brighter with her hair tied behind. She turned away as quickly as she looked at him.

They get on the truck and Daryl started driving. There was an uneasy silence hanging in the air.

"Let's head to the—"

"—dairy," Daryl completed for her. Obviously, they were thinking of the same thing. "No more splittin' up," he said firmly. "Always keep on my sight."

The girl didn't budge. Daryl threw her a quick look. "Did ye hear me?"

She didn't look back. "What happened in the stables," Emyli whispered, "that was not my first close call." In an even lower voice, she added: "I told you I wanted to live. Please trust me on this."

Now it's Daryl who didn't react—couldn't react. He knew what the girl was trying to say: she wanted him to stop worrying about her. And she's right. Daryl knew the girl was tough; tough enough for him to agree taking her on a run. But for some reason, he still couldn't let it go and he became angrier at himself.

They were quiet for the rest of their trip—until they were only a several minutes from the dairy.

"It was the kiss, wasn't it?"

Daryl almost swerved the truck.

The girl was still looking straight ahead; she seemed decided not to look at Daryl. She must be angry at him as well, perhaps because he had evaded all of her attempts to approach him yesterday.

Daryl postponed answering. He considered the thought and to his dismay, he realized it to be true. It wasn't just Emyli's close call in the stables that left him angry at himself. It was also the kiss. Daryl couldn't believe he was so relieved that the girl was safe—that he had to kiss her for it. It just wasn't him. And it left him baffled and irate.

"Ye told Glenn and T-Dog about it?" Daryl asked, trying hard not to show how much it was affecting him.

"No," she answered flatly.

Daryl gritted his teeth. That would be true; she just wasn't that kind. "Ye know it was just nothin'."

Emyli kept her silence, as if waiting for Daryl to say something else. But when he didn't, she said, "you want us to just forget about it?"

Daryl could feel her looking at him; he kept his eyes on the road.

"Yeah, I was hopin' we could do that."

* * *

Daryl had to step on the brake and tried to turn the truck around.

"Not walkers," Emyli said unsheathing her knives.

"No. Worse," Daryl mouthed.

"They're coming for us."

"Shit."

It was too late when they saw that the dairy was already occupied. Armed men were roaming the field and now at least five were pursuing them. Two jeeps with white flags on the side tailed Daryl and Emyli's truck. They had significant lead but a car suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Fuck," Daryl muttered, holding his head; they almost collided with the car.

Men alighted from their vehicles and closed in on them. Emyli was quick. She put her knives back on her belt and hid them beneath her shirt. No Kate anymore so she had to play her part. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, hard, and quickly plucked some hair from her eyelashes. Emyli opened her side of the truck even before Daryl could protest; she jumped out with arms raised.

"No, please…" Emyli pleaded with the most helpless look she could muster. "Me and my brother are just looking for food."

Six men: two in front of them and four behind, all with big guns hanging from their shoulders pointed at the truck's direction. But when they saw Emyli, a small, young girl, crying and pleading, their grip on their guns relaxed. The men looked at each other.

Emyli heard the truck's door opened and closed. Daryl came out with his crossbow raised and ready. The guns were aimed back at them. He walked backwards and sideways, looking at the men surrounding them until he reached Emyli.

"The first opportunity we get, ye run," Daryl whispered.

"We won't hurt you!" One of the men in front of them shouted. He lowered his gun and let it dropped on his side, still hanging from his shoulder. The other men followed suit. "Please lower your weapon!"

Daryl kept his crossbow on his face but glanced at Emyli. The girl nodded and he slowly put down the weapon. The man who shouted earlier started walking towards them; he was skinny with unruly hair and thick eyeglasses, probably in his late forties. Daryl covered Emyli, pushing her to the truck and keeping himself between her and the approaching man. The other guys were also slowly approaching them, encircling and trapping them.

"Here, child. Are you hurt?" The bespectacled man tried to reach for Emyli who was hidden behind Daryl. But Daryl raised his crossbow again in an instant. "Touch 'er and am gonna shoot ya point-blank."

"We won't hurt you," the man repeated. He distanced himself from then and signalled the other men to halt and step back.

"Let us go, then" Daryl said.

"Your sister said you were looking for food. We have food. We can help you."

"Oh yeah?" Daryl cajoled. "Then what? Ye guys gonna eat us after fattenin' us up?"

"C'mon," the man said calmly. "I'm a doctor. That house," he pointed the dairy, "is loaded. We'll take you to our leader. Have you heard of Jack?"

"Daryl, it's okay," whispered Emyli.

"Listen to your sister, man," called another guy. This one was with the doctor in the car; he's tall and muscular with long hair tied on his back. "Drop your weapon." He was a few meters away from them. Daryl aimed his crossbow at this guy. "Easy, man," the long-haired guy raised his arms as if in surrender. "I said drop your weapon—!"

He charged at Daryl.

"No, Lucas!"

Daryl had pushed Emyli away, barking "run!" before the guy collided with him.

Emyli almost stumbled but helped herself to her feet. She had no plan of running. Daryl and the man who charged at him, Lucas, were on the ground, fighting for the crossbow. The guy who introduced himself as a doctor ran toward the fight shouting, "Lucas! Stop it!"

The four men from behind started running toward the scene as well. Emyli pulled her knife and launched herself forward. The skinny doctor had been thrown by Lucas to the ground. And now the long-haired guy held Daryl by the neck, pinning him.

Without uttering a word, Emyli stabbed the man on his shoulder. Her knee connected to his face the moment he raised his head to scream in pain. She pushed him and the man landed on his back. Emyli took the gun from the ground and readied it.

Daryl reached for his crossbow and stood up, coughing.

"Don't move!" Four guns were aimed at them.

Emyli looked at the men several meters away from them. Half of their faces were hidden behind their weapons.

"No! You're scaring them!" The doctor was back on his feet as well.

"You bitch!"

Lucas attacked once more. Daryl was about to hit him on the face using his crossbow when a silent shot broke the air and the long-haired man dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Emyli!"

One of the men ran toward them: a boy in his late twenties with scruff on his face and curly black hair. He snatched Emyli with such agility that Daryl was caught off guard.

"I never thought I'd see you again…." The man embraced her like a long-lost lover. Daryl immediately put a bolt on his crossbow and aimed it at the man. "Let 'er go," he whispered. This was one of those moments when Daryl's low, raspy voice sounded deadlier than his bark.

Emyli pushed the man away and stepped back until Daryl was beside him who stepped forward, covering her.

The man was undaunted by the crossbow aimed at him. "Emyli, it's me."

Emyli looked at him closer—as close as Daryl had allowed her.

"Charlie?"

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

_**Last night…**_

Hershel and Beth were already sleeping. Maggie silently left their room and lightly tapped on the door across theirs.

"Emyli. You still awake?" She turned the knob and pushed when she answered yes.

Someone who didn't know the smaller girl would say she was just tired. And why not; they had spent the whole day preparing the rooms for occupation, cleaning, making inventory of the few things they were able to bring and securing the perimeter. But Maggie knew it was more than exhaustion from three consecutive eventful nigths for Emyli. There was something else behind her vacant look.

Maggie crossed her legs and sat across Emyli who was leaning on the wall; a lamp with dim light stood in the corner. "You brought her back," Maggie said with a smile, looking at Carol who was sleeping peacefully on a cot not too far from them.

"But we didn't find Andrea," Emyli whispered.

She was being hard on her self again, like usual.

"It's not your fault," Maggie told her promptly and firmly. "And we will find her. But for now..." she smiled again and it made Emyli stare at her not sure what she was about to say next. "Let's not talk about depressing things. Let's talk about you and Daryl."

"No..." Emyli muttered averting her eyes. "It's tiring just thinking about it."

So Maggie was right: Emyli was indeed thinking of something else and this was it. She had observed the two of them, both clueless and stubborn; Daryl and Emyli playing chase the whole day since they arrived from rescuing Carol. Emyli insisted on being assigned outside to help secure the grounds so she could closely work with Daryl. But Daryl suddenly reassigned himself to making alternative weapons, distancing himself from the girl. The redneck also chose the farthest room from Emyli's and evaded the girl's effort to talk to him.

"So try talking about it," Maggie said. "C'mon, you turned up behind him on his motorcycle, you probably spent the night together. You haven't told me how it actually happened."

Maggie watched the girl as she wrestled wih her thoughts. In the end, her patience triumphed as Emyli sighed and said, "Well, it doesn't matter now," she said coolly. "He's been avoiding me. Probably angry too."

"But why?" Maggie asked, confused. "I thought you were getting along really well," she paused. "Considering what happened before we had to leave the farm..."

Emyli shrugged. "I think we're only good for each other when there are walkers around. Otherwise, we're...just bundle of nerves."

Maggie smirked and said, "it's called sexual tension."

The girl was taken aback and it took a while before she spoke back. "There's nothing sexual about it," she said in afterthought.

"Let me be the judge of that," Maggie said, teasing. "Tell me about the parts with walkers."

Emyli studied Maggie's face for a moment and then chose to bow her head.

"Is this okay?" she whispered. "For me to think and talk about these things? You just lost your home. Andrea's still missing. We still don't have a permanent settlement. We should be minding the apocalypse."

And the girl considered herself cold and insensitive, Maggie thought. She slowly shook her head. "The apocalypse should mind itself," she said. "If we'll think about it all the time, all the bad things happening, we wouldn't be able to live. So give me and yourself a break from all the ugliness," she took Emyli's hands, "tell me how you two made up."

Emyli inhaled. "Okay," she breathed. "When I went back to the house to fetch the others, Carol told me that Lori had gone looking for Carl. So I went after her. But I couldn't find her and when I reached the house again, nobody's there anymore. And then I heard Carol scream.

"I tried to get to her but there were walkers between us. Then Daryl came." Maggie allowed herself a smile when Emyli mentioned the name. "I asked him to save Carol but...the dead were already surrounding her." Emyli bit her lip. "I remember being so angry at him for saving me instead of Carol. We went away on his bike and made our way to the clearing where we first met. To the shack where I was staying, where I took him when he was wounded."

Maggie had raised both her eyebrows, intrigued. This was getting good. She allowed Emyli some breathing time before she continued.

"Then we..." the girl struggled with words. "We were okay."

"That's it?" Maggie knew that was not it. She was teasing the smaller girl as she was obviously skipping the details and those details were what Maggie wanted. "How did it happen? Did you...kiss?"

"No." Firm voice with shake of head and blank expression.

"Well, did you...just shake hands?"

Emyli shook her head again, her look still blank. "No," she said.

"Did you embrace?"

A blink.

"Aha! So you did hug each other," Maggie exclaimed. "Tell me, tell me!" She just could not imagine Daryl hugging anyone.

Emyli took her hands from Maggie. "It was kind of awkward," she said. Maggie would bet it was. "I think I was crying and the next thing I know I was so close to him and one of Daryl's arms was around me.

"Maybe I was falling, because it felt like he caught me. I...put my arms on his sides because it was just...there, waiting to be held. I remember feeling so small because Daryl's chin was resting on top of my head. I felt surrounded. And safe. And warm."

Emyli exhaled after as if her description tired her. Then she looked at Maggie with a subtle sign of worry on her face as if to ask, "well?"

Maggie tried hard to suppress her smile as Emyli might think that she was laughing at her. But even after biting her lip, Maggie still had to curve them. "It was nice, wasn't it?"

A shrug. "I don't have much to compare it with, but...," Emyli nodded with a rare gleam in her eyes. "I guess so."

"What happened after? Please tell me you slept with him!-oh no. No. Tell me you didn't. We don't need another Lori."

"We actually did sleep together..."

Maggie gasped.

"The kind where you just close your eyes," Emyli added promptly.

Maggie breathed a sigh of relief. Then she suddenly seemed to remember something; she reached for her pocket and showed it to Emyli.

"Here keep these," she grabbed Emyli's hand and forced her to wrap her fingers around the object. "Glenn and I still have six."

Emlyi opened her hand and stared. "Condoms," she muttered, unblinking. "Do you really think I'd need these?"

"Not you. Daryl."

"I know," Emyli blurted. She raised her hand to look closely at the items. "I don't even know how to put these on..." She tried to hand them back to Maggie. "I think you and Glenn need these more."

Maggie folder her arms. "No. Keep them. I want you to create new memories. And be happy despite this new world," she said with a serious face. She was hesitating if she should say the next words forming in her head. "Emyli...I know about...your dad..."

Emyli stared at her for a second and then breathed. She pocketed the small sachets unconsciously. "It's not what you think it is," she said. "I was scared of him, but I loved him at the same time. I allowed myself to be a victim. I never saw what he was doing to me as...," she fumbled. Maggie felt guilty opening the topic up. Emyli might not show it but it must pain her, remembering it. "Sex," she finally was able to say. "It was just punishment for my failures. Nothing more or less."

Maggie fell silent, not knowing the right words to say. Until it was Emyli who broke the silence. "Can sex really make someone happy?" she asked rather curiously-and sadly. "Maybe it's just another overrated thing."

"No, Emyli," Maggie answered in an instant. "Not sex. Love. Love will make you happy."

"Love," she said, letting the sound linger on her lips. "Like you and Glenn."

Maggie had to smile. "Like what you and Daryl can be." There will be no more unlikely couple if that was to be true: The angry and the stoic. But that was why it was so amusing. It would be a shame not to see their story unfold. Maggie was sure it's going to be painfully awkward. But awkward had its own appeal; love was beautiful in so many different ways.

"You're saying that when he won't even look at me," Emyli shrugged.

"Why do you think he's angry at you?" Maggie inquired. "What happened in the farm when you rescued Carol?"

Maggie had a feeling that Emyli knew the reason already. "I nearly did not get out of the stables alive," she answered. "I think Daryl's angry the same reason why he was angry when he thought I was bitten and he searched me for bites."

"He feels responsible for you," Maggie uttered.

"And I don't want him to," Emyli said firmly. "I don't want him to worry about me. I want Daryl to trust me."

Maggie nodded, acknowledging her concern.

"Then he kissed me and it's all I could think about."

Maggie gasped. Emyli seemed oblivious to the effect of what she just divulged.

"He did?" Maggie was teasing her about it earlier, but now that it was apprently a fact, she couldn't believe it.

Emyli placed her hand on her head. "Just here," she said, "when Carol was not around. I wanted to ask him what it meant. Suddenly it was so important for me to uncover the reason. But he avoided me." Emyli bowed her head. "And now I'm angry at him too."

Maggie moved closer to Emyli. "Well, it's good, isn't it?" she said. "These…cacophony of emotions. It means you're not numb anymore."

"I…guess you're right," Emyli agreed. "But I just want Daryl and me to be okay. I don't want us to be angry at each other."

"Lily," Maggie called, endearing. "You do like Daryl, don't you?"

"I…don't know," she replied looking confused. "Maybe if we talk about it, I'll understand these feelings better." Emyli sighed; she probably knew Daryl was not the talking type. "But if he says forget about it, maybe I just should." She looked at Maggie. "I'm fine just being his hunting partner."

"You two actually make quite a team." Maggie smiled. "But I hope you will consider something more than that. Anyway, something like this, it's not gonna be easy to forget. Maggie scoffed. "And it's not like another guy's gonna walk in to your life and anytime soon."

Emyli shrugged. "Whatever Daryl says, goes," she said with finality.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** We meet a man named Jack.

* * *

**Writer's Notes:**

At long last, a new chapter. You probably know that I'm sorry about this. I am :(

Thank you so much for keeping with me. As usual, I'd like to thank these readers who **followed** _**Walk with Me:**_

**Axtla3000****, ****ElectroGirl444****, ****LilMizFireGirl****, ****Mel2121****, ****asdf5101****, ****esmecruz2095567****, ****kelizabeth13****, ****pixie415****, ****steffy2106****, ****walter-needz-luv-2**

My hugs and kisses to the following readers who **favourite-d** _**Walk with Me:**_

**Axtla3000****, ****ElectroGirl444****, ****TheBoyWithTheSnares****, ****asdf5101****, ****bluetard****, ****missy7293**

And the BIGGEST thank you always go the awesome readers who left a **REVIEW:**

**FuchsiaGrasshopper****:** Yay! Thanks for always leaving a feedback I want Andrea back too-the girl bonding session is just not complete without her. Ergh! And the kiss on head, look at how Daryl and Emyli got worked up. LOL.

**TheBoyWithTheSnares****:** Aww, thank you so much. Yey! Here's the update! Me too!—am suffering from TWD withdrawal; I watch old episodes everyday just to get by I'm glad that somehow I could be of help with your Daryl-deprived state

**missy7293****:** I'm so glad you enjoyed this! And here's the update! Yey! Oh, the progress with Daryl and Emyli here…they kinda always go back to square one But isn't that the beauty of DarylxOC, they take long to blossom because Daryl is just hard-to-get like that LOL.

Anyway, the reason that it takes too long for me to post a new chapter is because I'm working with another TWD fanfic called _**Daryl, May Artificial Boyfriend. **_ You may want to check that out as well if you haven't. It features Daryl and Emyli as well Let me know what you think. :)


End file.
